DESA1002 'Continuous City' Mary Lum

Abstract

With a canal penetrating the Plaza Mayor on one side and a narrow, busy street on the other, my building sits amidst the bustling lifestyle of Madrid, Spain. Initially I had planned to design a cinema complex; however this idea developed and I eventually found myself devising plans for an auction house. The form of this building follows the function as well as the perimeter of the chosen area. Responding to the need for two separate paths of circulation in order to isolate public and private spaces, the lower levels of this building is essentially divided into two halves. One half is an auction theatre where auctions are held whilst the other half is dedicated to exhibition space. This is emphasised in the cladding of the building as one half is clad in opaque material whilst the other half is enclosed using transparent trace paper. Since the auction theatre is an enclosed space where lighting and temperature needs to be controlled with precision in order to create an appropriate environment for auctions, natural sun penetration is not needed. Therefore this half has been clad with the opaque material. On the other hand, I have designed the transparent exhibition area to have double ceiling height with the idea of glorifying artifacts and other auction items in mind. This is analogous to the notion that in high class restaurants, minute amounts of expensive food are served on large plates; framing it and accentuating its value. The top two levels of this building are dedicated to office space and grandiose meeting areas for important clients and business. These areas are located on the top floor as its transparency allows for the best views. The underground level on the other hand is used for storage and circulation space. The large vacant circulation area allows for large trucks to enter the building for deliveries.