Architizer’s newest print publication is available for pre-order! How to Visualize Architecture is an educational guide designed to help you master the craft of architectural storytelling and visual communication. Secure your copy today.
Exploring qualities of light, scale and structure, good section drawings show how form and space come together to shape human experience. These drawings are not unlike art; they explore atmospheric qualities and speak to the human condition. Art galleries and private studios are spaces defined by specific technical needs, and often draw inspiration from the methods and techniques of the artists that work within them.
Exploring the relationship between art, artists and the spaces designed to exhibit their work, the following section drawings take a deeper dive into the architectural language of modern galleries. Representing a range or projects around the world, the drawings highlight how architecture can focus our attention and deepen our appreciation for art.
White Block Gallery by SsD, Seoul, South Korea
The White Block Gallery is a 1500 square meter exhibition and cultural space at the heart of the Heyri Art Valley in South Korea. A matrix of three carefully positioned solid volumes creates seven additional galleries in a compact but open ended configuration. Designed to showcase global contemporary art from super sized sculpture and paintings to multi-media installations, the spaces are unique in proportion and lighting allowing curators to accommodate new future forms of art and media.
Artfarm by Ai Weiwei/FAKE Design and HHF Architects, Salt Point, NY, United States
The Artfarm is situated in upstate New York (a 90 minute drive from the city) on the estate of an art collector and gallery owner. The building is divided into several exhibitions spaces of varying sizes and into areas designed especially for storing artworks. The outer form is a direct consequence of the prefabricated galvanized iron sheets often used in the area for agricultural utility buildings.
Marfa Contemporary Gallery by Rand Elliott Architects, Marfa, TX, United States
The City Arts Center in Oklahoma City was expanding its operations in the region. Having a satellite gallery in Marfa, Texas, a town with a well-established reputation in the international art arena, would help stimulate further interest in City Arts Center throughout the world. The mission of Marfa Contemporary Gallery encourages artistic expression in all its forms through education and exhibitions.
Art Gallery in Buenos Aires by Nicolás Fernández Sanz, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The project was designed for a warehouse space constructed in the mid-20th century on Ramírez de Velasco Street, between Darwin and a crossing of the San Martín train line. The project is, in essence, an intervention that uses existing elements and spaces rather than forcibly imposes an ideal. It makes use of everything that was in working order; the distribution of the space, as well as ways of exploring it, reflect the warehouse itself.
Auckland Art Gallery by Archimedia, Auckland, New Zealand
The new Auckland Art Gallery has developed from a concept that relates as much to the organic natural forms of the landscape as it does from architectural order and character of the important heritage buildings. The new building is characterised through a series of fine “tree-like” canopies that define and cover the entry forecourt, atrium and gallery areas. These light profiled forms “hover” over the stone walls and terraces creating a memorable image and character closely related to the beautiful overhanging canopy of Pohutukawa Trees.
The Condensery – Somerset Regional Art Gallery by PHAB Architects, Toogoolawah, Australia
The 1920s packing shed is the only building remaining from the once prosperous Nestle condensed milk factory — an important centre of Toogoolawah’s economic and social life until the factory was destroyed by fire in 1951. The art gallery and workshop opened in December 2015, positioning the building as a catalyst for the ongoing cultural life of the region.
York Art Gallery by Simpson & Brown, York, United Kingdom
York Art Gallery is a public art gallery in York city center with a collection of paintings from the 14th century to the present day. It also exhibits the most extensive and representative collection of British Studio Ceramics in the country. The Grade II listed building was originally built for the second Yorkshire Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition in 1879. In 1892 it became the new City Art Gallery.
Château La Coste Art Gallery by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Aix-en-Provence, France
This new building, designed by RPBW, rises in the heart of the grapevines of the prestigious Château La Coste realm. The 285-square-meter pavilion serves a dual function, displaying art and preserving wine. Due to the natural topography of the site, the gallery’s design called for contractors to carve a 6-meter-deep valley in the earth so as to fully incorporate the building into the vineyard. The glazed façades and lightweight roof contrast with exposed concrete, which doubles as both the retaining and interior gallery walls.
Architizer’s newest print publication is available for pre-order! How to Visualize Architecture is an educational guide designed to help you master the craft of architectural storytelling and visual communication. Secure your copy today.
