PAM PUBLIC LECTURE 02
PAM TALK 2
BY : PROFESSOR CHARLIE SUTHERLAND
He studied Architecture at the Mackintosh School of Glasgow. After graduating he joined the office of James Stirling and worked on a number of international commissions and competitions. In 1997 He established Sutherland Hussey Architects with his long term colleague, Charlie Hussey, and completed a number of award winning on small scale projects all over the UK, some of it also in the shortlist for Stirling and Mies Van Der Rohe prizes.
He also the seven RIBA award winning projects in UK, the practice has also developed him collaborate many overseas projects which are in larger scale such as a major urban regeneration proposal and win an International architectural competition in Chengdu of a museum.
Now he is a lecturer at the Mackintosh School of Architecture. He also has been an external examiner for the Honours degree in Edinburgh College of Art. He current is external examiner for Greenwich and Newcastle Universitie. He was elected as a fellow to the Royal Scottish Academy for Art and Architecture in 2011 .
The public lecture is talk about his successful project and how he explain the “definite and infinite” in architecture. The explaination of the two words have said that every design should have a reason, not just design for fund or what it need to design based on site context and human behaviour. Design consideration look at space which mix together with nature and something else that create relation between inside to outside and outside to inside. Must imagine before it comes to real and he also plays with urban landscape, material, space and something more.
Below are few projects that I am interested in Charlie’s project. It showed how his idea and “definite and infinite” were used.
LAWSON PARK
An historic Cumbrian hill farm, located in John Ruskin’s home lands at Brantwood, was established in 1338 by Furness Abbey to supply wool. The organisation of the building developed the existing linear form into the private cellular bedrooms bookending the central split section of interlocking social spaces. The exterior façade is been keep using raw material and the interior are totally modern.
Design of interior to create better space and this building is in a adaptive reuse situation. The mixture of intimate and grand spaces also allows for the diverse activities this giving a strong definition of light and shade to an essentially hermetic interior too. It similar with Ningbo museum in china.
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, UK
This building is I most interest in which I feel the design idea is there for the purpose and also it have some point to refer for my studio4 project. The space is well planned which is for artist and some exhibition space. Those space are in organization which connect internal and external environments, building itself also from small to large scale for events and the production and exhibition of work and spaces are predominantly clad in brick.
The courtyard’s side walkway is not only a walkway it can be transform to become outdoor
exhibition of those artist’s sculpture.
It also have a point to connect inside and outside as attract public to visit and look at artworks which the spaces is create not only for artist but also for public.
At same time it also maintain the private space of artist while public space is in use by public. Some part of the building have some similarity with Louis I Kahn buildings.
VENICE BEACH HOUSE, LA
Located by the sea front in the narrow lanes of Venice Beach, this proposal comprises of a three bedroom house with an studio apartment, each accessed separately by independent external terraces and amenity spaces.
The house is organised around a full height courtyard void over a pool, allowing light to penetrate into the deep plan.
On the lower floor the bedrooms all have an aspect inwardly over the pool that the street facing elements deal with parking and separate studio apartment access. Living spaces are organised around the courtyard. Roof top he also mention that is a courtyard. Timber screen can be opened up to look at the beach and can be a shelter too.
As conclusion , I personally feel that Charlie Sutherland’s design consideration is perfectly done and the way he use to design a building is based on site context , consideration of space planning and also the material use. The word he use the “ courtyard “ and “ shelter “ and play with it , is the biggest design objective that I get from this lecture talk it have a bigger meaning behind it.
