art box is a transparent shed that houses individual
ateliers suspended by a colonnade

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Shoreditch, London, UK
Program_ artist studio/gallery/greenhouse

A walk in Shoreditch is delineated as crowded graffiti on the facades of the streets.  Known to be the heart of the creatives, Shoreditch lacks a home for the craftsmen, painters, artisans and co. Referencing Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown's Learning from Las Vegas_ Shoreditch is miserably rich in decorated sheds. Thus, the concept of a non-decorated shed emerges as a space that does not crave signs or let imagery convey such program, but rather a design that speaks for itself. 

The overground is an expressive framework that runs through the entirety of the site, yet it is detached from the prevailing spaces that lie beneath it. Accentuating this infrastructure will allow the overground to become the newfangled icon of Shoreditch.

Deviating from the accepted system of arches, the art box completely isolates and exposes the overground to its bare; thus columns are implemented as the new structural system. The concept of the art box is a four-faced low_E glass facade that fashions a perception of being held within an enclosed space that contrasts with the illusion of an open colonnade.

The overground simply divides the art box into two types of workshop space_ mechanical (ie_ some bulky equipment) and conventional art. In a similar manner, planes and solid forms that express spacial notability, rest on a tight grid of columns that are valued for its structural support. Having the public galleries and greenhouse on the top floors and the privatized studios closer to ground, it endorses people to experience the process of how art is fabricated and made (from its primitive to polished state). The characters are directed through the space in a clear circulation that is derived from the shifting of solids/play on voids.

The art box is a sanctuary for the characters who want to express and showcase their passion. The art box facilitates the recognition and appreciation for the art of Shoreditch.

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s16_ 6 weeks design
Professor, Francisco Sanin_London, UK
design collaboration with  Maria Clara Perez Irazabal