The Art Rooms (Parts 1 and 2) – Nadia Smith | Page 18
Site and building
Building
Where?
Portsmouth is a waterfront city in Hampshire. It is
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Portsmouth is the most densely populated area of
the UK and consists of diverse cultures and a wide
range of ages.
In many areas of Portsmouth, a high number of people
are in poverty meaning they are less likely to
have had access to as many opportunities as those
not in poverty.
History
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‘lace manufacturer, milliner and dressmakers’ shop
owned by Frederick Wink. John Lewis partnership
bought the business in 1933 and it ran as this until its
close in July 2019.
Precedent
Figure 6- Site plan [Primary source]
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Figure 5- Palmerston Road shops [Primary source]
The Knight and Lee building is located on a busy high
street in Southsea, Portsmouth. The large vacant building
is currently one of the “1 in 10 shops closed on UK high
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encourage and invite more people to visit and discover
the opportunities created.
Figure 8- Front entrance Knight & Lee building, Southsea [Primary source]
Filene’s old Department Store was converted into
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Architects.
Adaptive reuse is important, as retaining elements of
the building provide insight into the history of how
the building came to its current state.
By dividing the Knight & Lee building and blocking up the
current openings in the existing central wall, it splits the
building in two, to allow for separate uses.
The north side of the building, where there is less direct
sunlight, is better suited to the arts.
“The challenge is to enable conventional places to become desirable places to spend time in - not just shopping but
visiting and for working, living, learning and local services”. (ITV news, 2019)
Figure 9- Model of Knight & Lee building [Primary source]
The existing openings are highlighted in blue. The
openings are allowing light to pass through the building.
My design will retain all of the existing openings and
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into the building and visibility to and from the high
street.
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building is known to increase physical and mental
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as well as lessening illness, therefore improving our
productivity.
Figure 7- Abstract colour and site photograph [Primary source]
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