Project06: Art Centre
Porosity/Permeability

Bishop Auckland had decided to hold the local project which involves the festival. The project invited La Machine to make the festival more enriching. This design project is related to La Machine and proposes the art studio for multiple purposes with the concept of porosity/permeability. The main programme for this studio involves artwork made from metal, ceramic, and machinery and photography and cooking. Once established, it will benefit the entire site by re-developing the empty site near the Newgate Centre into a public cultural space. The building will be available for artists, chefs, artists from La Machine, residents of Bishop Auckland, and even visitors from different regions. The mass of the building has many openings, passages, and Voronoi structures, representing the porosity/permeability inspired by the abstraction of coal particles. SL originally planned to design the machine as mobile, such as a cable car, hot air balloon, or food trailer towed by a truck. However, the machine is placed on the top of the building with the future possibility of mobility.

Site Visit

After SL visiting the site, two words are in his mind: Narrow and Deserted. In this project, the function of the existing building was also crucial in the design process of the new art Centre for the community of Bishop Auckland, which is named as “BASE”. SL may develop a concept of commoning from this project.

PS, SL have been drawing things he imagined since he was a child. He still does drawing the objects around him, which have attraction. For years, he tried to use digital tools for his architectural design, although it was not quite encouraged in school. Through self-learning, he is using these tools conveniently now, and it is a really constructive way to see what he has designed thoroughly and vividly.