Design Statement
5.1. Urban context. [Drawings 335/001, 029, 030]
5.1.1. The school is situated in an area of mostly residential development, near Dundonald Park and adjacent to Wimbledon Chase School, with playing fields and open spaces stretching out towards the West. It is in the Merton Hall Road Conservation Area, which is predominantly of late Victorian /Edwardian development, although stretching southwards to the older settlement around The Rush and the Kingston Road.
5.1.2. Wimbledon School of Art’s links both to other arts institutions in London and globally mean that the approaches and routes to the school are especially important. These can be characterised as Urban: the approach to the site form the north - London, Wimbledon urban centre, walking down Hartfield Crescent, through or past Dundonald Park, and Suburban: approaches to the site from the south - Kingston Road, Merton Park - shops and pub.
5.1.3. Although the new development must respect and enhance the character of the conservation area, its nature, as the foyer to an arts school, gallery, and theatre, mean that it contrasts with, rather than fits in to the surrounding residential development - a point of urban discontinuity, reflecting its distinct function.
5.2. The character of the Conservation Area.
5.2.1. The three storey late Victorian houses which form the majority of Merton Hall Road give a strong sense of rhythm to the East side. Although there is considerable variety in detail, with flat, rectangular, bow and bay frontages, the houses offer a unified and definite character with their palette of red brick with stone dressings, tile cladding, and echoes of Venetian Gothic detailing.
5.2.2. The school of Art occupies a frontage of about 150 metres on the West of the street, [drawing 335/024] offering a variety of buildings, from north to south:
- the parapetted and metal windowed three storey 1930s refined classicism of the original school, of a mid grey/brown brick with a rusticated ground floor.
- the brown brick neo-vernacular of the galleries constructed in 1983 offering low pitched gables to the street.
- two former residences, nos 46 and 48 Merton Hall Road, dating from approximately 1902, which have been converted to institutional use, with with brick and metal clad workshops behind.
5.2.3. Beyond the school frontage to the south is an unbuilt frontage of about 140 metres offering glimpses to the playing fields beyond, leading to the pedestrian thoroughfare, The Chase.
5.2.4. Unifying features across this broad frontage are a row of mature trees, and the black modular vertical railings. An existing mature horse chestnut tree stand almost directly in front of the proposed foyer, and is an integral part of the design, providing screening and some solar shading to the foyer.
5.3. The proposed design. Design issues include:
5.3.1. The institutional culture of the school. The building should embody the values of the school, reflecting its position as a thriving place of art-making, education and research. The foyer is in a
sense the ‘shop window’ of the school, and should offer views
into the interior, and the opportunity to display the work of the school in fine
art, sculpture, costume, theatre and media design.
5.3.2. Layers of privacy and protection. [Drawings 335/26,27,28]. The school's buildings are set back from the street, and the new facade is approximately 10.6 m from the front boundary of the site. The design responds to and extends the layers of public and semi-private space. The existing tree forms a powerful three dimensional screen casting shadows and reflections on the new glass wall. Layers of privacy extend from roadway to pavement, through the new pedestrian entrance in the boundary railings, the re-landscaped forecourt, and through the glass walled draught lobbies to the new foyer space and existing service spaces behind. The design opens up views right through the existing building and into the rear yard, like a glass slot giving expression to the interior activities of the school. [This is illustrated in image 27.03]. The curved forms of the rear service core, together with its deep blue colour, further draw the eye into the interior of the building.
5.3.3. The scale of the new building. It is important that the
foyer is of an appropriate size to signal its presence as the main entrance of
the School. For this reason the building is 7m in height, although a single storey
space, to become a ‘light box’ for exhibiting the work.
5.3.4. Light spillage. [Drawing 335/023] it is important to prevent light spillage or light pollution from the new structure, and the proposed lighting strategy is shown on drawing 335/023. Lighting within the foyer will be internal asymmetric uprights, shielded to prevent glare and light spillage, and track lighting to the perimeter for exhibitions. There are no proposed new external lights. The existing horse chestnut tree will dapple any indirect light from the site. Drawing 335/023 also shows the scale of the building and its relationship to the existing residential development opposite, together with the sight lines from the upper floors of the residential properties into the new spaces.
5.3.5. Structure and materials. The structure is to be a grey painted exposed steel frame, partially glazed, and partially infilled with timber framed panels finished in unpainted render. The roof is to be a metal standing seam roof in aluminium/zinc finish (dull grey) into which planting trays may be fitted at a future date to allow a sedum roof. It is invisible from the street. The edge trim of the roof is to be stainless steel, to echo the new studio buildings at the north western part of the site. Glazing is to be provided in an aluminium polyester powder coated glazing system, also grey. The intention is to provide a simple contemporary harmonious structure which will allow the interior life of the school to speak for itself.
5.4. The foyer will provide a more generous entrance to the recently refurbished gallery, theatre and studios, an area for meeting and milling around, displaying current projects and the new outreach staff will be prominently located in offices. The WC facilities will be upgraded to form a semi-public space to serve the gallery, theatre and school. These alterations will enable the existing buildings to be bought into more productive use, for the benefit not only of the School but the whole community.
PDF
of Full Planning Statement (177kb)