Continuum of Adaptation
North Eveleigh Precinct & Redfern
2024
Adaptive Reuse & Modular Construction for an Exhibition Space
SETTING THE SCENE
The North Eveleigh precinct and its industrial development holds significant Indigenous and contextual history, and thus it's imperative to draw out and expand on this ethos through the interactions of landscape, both past and present. The project's Connection to Country through the regeneration of vegetation and restoration of land creates havens for native flora and fauna with new habitats for plants, birds and life to attract the once-abundant native ecosystem back to the area, all the while combining it with the historical industrialisation of the site.
The brief outlines the aim to explore the relationship between the site and proposed art spaces. This promotes thought on designing unique conditions utilising modular construction that is functional for artists and the public’s needs whilst developing outdoor spaces that invite and transition people between inside and outside.
The paint shop and proposed extension accommodates programs for art galleries, workspaces, and exhibitions and performances. The site is positioned between both commercial and residential buildings, with Redfern Station nearby to the east and well known commercial and public buildings such as Carriageworks to the west. It has main views onto Eastern Park and the train; line, with main entries via both Carriageworks and Eastern Park. The proposed design is to redevelop the existing paint shop building and propose an extension above, utilising modular construction to drive the form and shape, in to fit the brief of the project, all the while responding to the existing site conditions and it’s contextual history.
Existing Conditions
Thematic Principles | Key Design Outcomes
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create a public laneway TO transition people through the building and blur the line between inside and outside
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create areas of socialising TO encourage meeting and connection to the wider community
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expose the car workshop & new extension TO allow natural sunlight to enter the spaces inside and between
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integrate existing forms into the design TO form a physical connection to site
Detail Model
Detail Model
Site Model
Building Model
Building Model
Building Model
“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
- Aristotle
WRAPPING AND WEAVING
The facade utilises the play of linear forms to create curves, delineating the progressive evolution of the modules. Both the undercroft on the ground floor and the workspaces above allow for a collective experience of organic forms transitioning from the landscape and flowing vertically up the façade as people walk along and inside the building. The facade drapes over the volumetric geometry of the programs, giving it a dynamic shape and form.
The curves wrapping around the existing paintshop building recall the dramatic and artistic history of film, while also referencing the industrial character and history of the Eveleigh precinct as people move through each space, both inside and outside.
Proposed Design
ACTIVITIES AND DAILY MOVEMENTS
The sectional perspectives illustrate moments of interaction within the programs as people go about their day-to-day activities. As well as illustrating the shared interactions of the cafe between the interstitial and gallery spaces, juxtaposed against the adjacent more intimate and quiet work and meeting spaces.
The sectional perspectives also take a closer look at the construction process of the proposed modules as it’s surrounded and situated in the existing paintshop and suburban landscape, allowing the public to wander, socialise and be served various artworks throughout the proposed site. The exterior and interior of the programs is demonstrated through these sectional perspectives that allow and give an insight into the materiality and design of the spaces.
The levels above highlight fabrication labs and open gallery and workspaces that allow people to create artworks that are then displayed and shared to the public. The building also proposes void spaces that hug the paintshop façade, allowing people to experience the performance from above and view the landscape below.
