CENTRE FOR ARTS & CULTURE
TUT ARTS CAMPUS
TUT ARTS CAMPUS
The Client, the TUT Arts Campus, isexperiencing a pressing need for a multipurpose physical space in which toaccommodate its administrative and other needs not yet housed on the ArtsCampus.
An equally crucial aim of this initiative isthe establishment of a centre from which to interface with both the artsproducing public and the arts appreciating public, taking its form as an”operational centre” in a multi purpose Centre for Arts & Culture.
This thesis represents a design for a Centrefor Arts and Culture at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). The sitechosen is on the southern end of the present arts campus which is situated atthe convergence of Bloed and du Toit Streets.
The Centre will primarily support facilitieson the arts campus offered by the Arts faculty of TUT.
The proposed new facilities will concentrateon a few vital problems which exist on the present campus. Namely:
CONCEPT
The design concept is generated fromanimation. Animation is the general activity of movement.
Movement was the main design generator inthis design, and can be described in two different ways pertaining specificallyto this dissertation.
Firstly, it is the act of changing locationfrom one place to another. This refers specifically to the Arts Campus and itsbroader context, the city.
Secondly, it is a change of position thatdoes not entail a change of location. This refers to the Arts Campus and itsimmediate context and how built form can direct frayed outdoor campus realms.
The design driver for both the broadercontext and immediate context is the concept. The concept is called The AnimationZone.
BROADCONTEXT
In the broader context of Tshwane the conceptof the animation zone will establish a movement spine between 2 arts andculture nodes.
The Arts campus, which is not incorporated inthe MDC, will establish itself as a educational arts and culture node to thenorth, while Oeverzicht Arts village and Breytenbach theater, which is anexisting node with historical buildings will be developed in the south.
IMMEDIATECONTEXT
The Arts Campus is strategically wellpositioned to in the broader context to play its part as an urban regenerator.
The Center for Arts and Culture will respondto the street in the form of Animation Zone that will serve to illustrate themovement and vibrancy of the Arts Campus and bring that creative energy to thestreet producing an awareness of the Arts
THECITY AND THE ARTS CAMPUS
IMAGEABILITYOF TUT
The Arts Campus has a lack of imagabilitywhich makes it illegible. It is a hidden fiction with no interface to the city.
With regards to TUT, the Arts Campus has noface that can interact with its surrounding fabric. The Campus is hidden awayfrom the street by pre-cast concrete barriers and lacks sufficient response tothe city as well as its stature as a place of tertiary education.
The Center for Arts and Culture permits theopportunity to create a interface public of both the campus and the city thatestablishes a new front for the TUT Arts Campus.
SITEACCESSIBILITY
The current location of the entrance of theArts Campus has no real definition or hierarchy which makes it difficult tolocate.
The placement of the main entrance to theArts Campus has been shifted to the south eastern point of the site where themain avenue, Nelson Mandela Drive,terminates. This allows for legibility and immediate accessibility into theCampus.
PARKING
Parking on campuses often dictates the campusstructure entirely, which makes the vehicles more dominant over the pedestrian.Currently on the Arts Campus, parking is allocated to the periphery and centerof the campus, which infringes on the vibrancy of campus open spaces, spacesthat are not defined as well.
A parking basement is proposed for the artscampus that will be accessible from the main campus entrance, and enable vehiclesto be removed from the campus fabric allowing vibrant campus spaces to beactivated and enhanced.
THEPODIUM
The building in its response to the streetedge is placed on a podium to give it visual hierarchy.
The problem that arose in the preliminarydesign process was that the sidewalk of the campus was cluttered by taxi’s andother vehicles.
THECAMPUS AND ITS PUBLIC REALMS
Campussquare: The space of interconnection.
The campus square revolves around the groundfloor functions of both the Center for arts and culture and the existingbuildings.
The existing building 8 is proposed to serveas a new function on ground floor level, with some shops and small café’stogether with the New Center’s restaurant andart material shop and gallery to activate the campus square as a retail node oncampus.
It is called the space of interconnection,because of the relationship between the new center and the older existingbuildings, and how they respond reciprocally to one another.
It is a mutual contrast in a space ofinterconnection.
Campuscourtyard: The space of intermission.
The space of intermission refers to thecampus courtyard and its relationship between two entities, the library and thelecture halls.
The space is created by the strategicplacement of the two buildings and allows for a pause between academic programsto reflect, sit down and read a book, and instills tranquility into thestudents.
The courtyard is the smallest of the 3 publiccampus spaces and has a sense of intimacy.
Campuspiazza: The space of interaction.
The space of interaction refers to how thecampus piazza will be used as a functional public space, function in bothvisual and physical aspects.
In times of art festivals, the piazza can beused as a outdoor exhibition ‘’room’’ for students to exhibit interact, delivercritique, philosophize, etc., Which allows it to be a visually rich andphysically functional space.
THEARCHITECTURAL RESPONSE
Form asa type of movement
Movement played an integral part in thedesign process from building form, tectonics, circulation and especially theouter public ‘’rooms’’.
The shape and tectonics of the library andcenter for Arts and Culture complimented the movement concept in both of theseaspects, and played with rhythm and animation to make people visually aware ofthe Campus
Centerfor Arts and Culture
The center is the main building and heart ofthe design. It incorporates a variety of functions such as a restaurant, artmaterial shop and art selling shop, variety of exhibition spaces, anexperimental theater and administration offices.
Servicesand circulation
The podium, apart from serving as a barrierto keep taxi’s off the sidewalk, also serves a physical function and houses therestaurant kitchen, delivery yard, refuse yard, cold and dry storage as well asother storage areas for the art material shop.
There are 3 circulation cores in the buildingwhich are strategically placed to serve as structural entities as part f thestructural grid of the center and located to the eastern and western sides ofthe building. In addition to this they also create a transitional space betweenthe exhibition areas.
Experimentaltheater
The experimental theater in the Center of Arts and culture is a 3 storey openvolume space with a dressing and makeup area located underneath the theater onefloor down.
The open space allows for a variety ofperformances to take place within its open shell.
When the theater is not being occupied byperformances it will be used by the university as a multi-functional hall
Protruding through the theaters volume is anexhibition passage that runs through the building on two floors and creates theopportunity for onlookers to participate visually in whatever theater activityis presented.
The grand ramp gives direct access from theCampus piazza to the theater and which can also be utilized as a viewingplatform over the activities in the Campus piazza.
TheExperimental events space
The experimental events space is a open steelstructure that communicates the current situations on the arts campus to thepublic. It advertises current events, performances, festivals, etc to keep thepublic informed.
TheLibrary
Placement
The placement of the library is on the southeastern point on the Arts campus site. Although noise factors generated fromheavy traffic from du Tiot Streetwas a main concern, the decision was made to place it on the street edge tointeract with passing vehicles.
As they drive passed they will see themovement aspect in building tectonics as well as physical animation theinhabitants inside of the library.
Transparency:the visual connection
The library positioning is orientated on anorth - south axis, and faces the street on the southern side and the campus onthe northern side.In continuing the concept of animation the decision was madeto give the library a transparency in order for onlookers of the building tosee the animation inside of it, interacting with the building once again on avisual level.
LectureHalls
Placement
The Lecture halls originally formed part ofthe library as one space. Through the design development stage is was morebeneficial to split the lecture halls from the library in order to create anddefine additional public campus spaces.
‘’Canopies’’to public realms
The lecture halls posed a challenge in thatit had to respond to a larger public realm as well as a new created courtyard.
The end result was that for the Campus piazzaside, the lecture halls located one floor above and facing north serves ascanopies a transitional space for the students. Underneath these ‘’canopies’’the students can sit and view the Campus piazza.
Conclusion
The Center for Arts and Culture is a designintervention fot Tshwane to uplift the current dilapidated fabric of our innercity.
It not only repairs the city fabric but alsothe fabric of a tertiary institution node, a arts camps
that not only lacks sufficient facilities butalso spatial cohesion.
The Center is an intervention to enrich thequality of life those who uses it to encapsulate an environment in which toeducate artists.
An equally crucial aim of this initiative isthe establishment of a centre from which to interface with both the artsproducing public and the arts appreciating public, taking its form as an”operational centre” in a multi purpose Centre for Arts & Culture.
This thesis represents a design for a Centrefor Arts and Culture at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). The sitechosen is on the southern end of the present arts campus which is situated atthe convergence of Bloed and du Toit Streets.
The Centre will primarily support facilitieson the arts campus offered by the Arts faculty of TUT.
The proposed new facilities will concentrateon a few vital problems which exist on the present campus. Namely:
CONCEPT
The design concept is generated fromanimation. Animation is the general activity of movement.
Movement was the main design generator inthis design, and can be described in two different ways pertaining specificallyto this dissertation.
Firstly, it is the act of changing locationfrom one place to another. This refers specifically to the Arts Campus and itsbroader context, the city.
Secondly, it is a change of position thatdoes not entail a change of location. This refers to the Arts Campus and itsimmediate context and how built form can direct frayed outdoor campus realms.
The design driver for both the broadercontext and immediate context is the concept. The concept is called The AnimationZone.
BROADCONTEXT
In the broader context of Tshwane the conceptof the animation zone will establish a movement spine between 2 arts andculture nodes.
The Arts campus, which is not incorporated inthe MDC, will establish itself as a educational arts and culture node to thenorth, while Oeverzicht Arts village and Breytenbach theater, which is anexisting node with historical buildings will be developed in the south.
IMMEDIATECONTEXT
The Arts Campus is strategically wellpositioned to in the broader context to play its part as an urban regenerator.
The Center for Arts and Culture will respondto the street in the form of Animation Zone that will serve to illustrate themovement and vibrancy of the Arts Campus and bring that creative energy to thestreet producing an awareness of the Arts
THECITY AND THE ARTS CAMPUS
IMAGEABILITYOF TUT
The Arts Campus has a lack of imagabilitywhich makes it illegible. It is a hidden fiction with no interface to the city.
With regards to TUT, the Arts Campus has noface that can interact with its surrounding fabric. The Campus is hidden awayfrom the street by pre-cast concrete barriers and lacks sufficient response tothe city as well as its stature as a place of tertiary education.
The Center for Arts and Culture permits theopportunity to create a interface public of both the campus and the city thatestablishes a new front for the TUT Arts Campus.
SITEACCESSIBILITY
The current location of the entrance of theArts Campus has no real definition or hierarchy which makes it difficult tolocate.
The placement of the main entrance to theArts Campus has been shifted to the south eastern point of the site where themain avenue, Nelson Mandela Drive,terminates. This allows for legibility and immediate accessibility into theCampus.
PARKING
Parking on campuses often dictates the campusstructure entirely, which makes the vehicles more dominant over the pedestrian.Currently on the Arts Campus, parking is allocated to the periphery and centerof the campus, which infringes on the vibrancy of campus open spaces, spacesthat are not defined as well.
A parking basement is proposed for the artscampus that will be accessible from the main campus entrance, and enable vehiclesto be removed from the campus fabric allowing vibrant campus spaces to beactivated and enhanced.
THEPODIUM
The building in its response to the streetedge is placed on a podium to give it visual hierarchy.
The problem that arose in the preliminarydesign process was that the sidewalk of the campus was cluttered by taxi’s andother vehicles.
THECAMPUS AND ITS PUBLIC REALMS
Campussquare: The space of interconnection.
The campus square revolves around the groundfloor functions of both the Center for arts and culture and the existingbuildings.
The existing building 8 is proposed to serveas a new function on ground floor level, with some shops and small café’stogether with the New Center’s restaurant andart material shop and gallery to activate the campus square as a retail node oncampus.
It is called the space of interconnection,because of the relationship between the new center and the older existingbuildings, and how they respond reciprocally to one another.
It is a mutual contrast in a space ofinterconnection.
Campuscourtyard: The space of intermission.
The space of intermission refers to thecampus courtyard and its relationship between two entities, the library and thelecture halls.
The space is created by the strategicplacement of the two buildings and allows for a pause between academic programsto reflect, sit down and read a book, and instills tranquility into thestudents.
The courtyard is the smallest of the 3 publiccampus spaces and has a sense of intimacy.
Campuspiazza: The space of interaction.
The space of interaction refers to how thecampus piazza will be used as a functional public space, function in bothvisual and physical aspects.
In times of art festivals, the piazza can beused as a outdoor exhibition ‘’room’’ for students to exhibit interact, delivercritique, philosophize, etc., Which allows it to be a visually rich andphysically functional space.
THEARCHITECTURAL RESPONSE
Form asa type of movement
Movement played an integral part in thedesign process from building form, tectonics, circulation and especially theouter public ‘’rooms’’.
The shape and tectonics of the library andcenter for Arts and Culture complimented the movement concept in both of theseaspects, and played with rhythm and animation to make people visually aware ofthe Campus
Centerfor Arts and Culture
The center is the main building and heart ofthe design. It incorporates a variety of functions such as a restaurant, artmaterial shop and art selling shop, variety of exhibition spaces, anexperimental theater and administration offices.
Servicesand circulation
The podium, apart from serving as a barrierto keep taxi’s off the sidewalk, also serves a physical function and houses therestaurant kitchen, delivery yard, refuse yard, cold and dry storage as well asother storage areas for the art material shop.
There are 3 circulation cores in the buildingwhich are strategically placed to serve as structural entities as part f thestructural grid of the center and located to the eastern and western sides ofthe building. In addition to this they also create a transitional space betweenthe exhibition areas.
Experimentaltheater
The experimental theater in the Center of Arts and culture is a 3 storey openvolume space with a dressing and makeup area located underneath the theater onefloor down.
The open space allows for a variety ofperformances to take place within its open shell.
When the theater is not being occupied byperformances it will be used by the university as a multi-functional hall
Protruding through the theaters volume is anexhibition passage that runs through the building on two floors and creates theopportunity for onlookers to participate visually in whatever theater activityis presented.
The grand ramp gives direct access from theCampus piazza to the theater and which can also be utilized as a viewingplatform over the activities in the Campus piazza.
TheExperimental events space
The experimental events space is a open steelstructure that communicates the current situations on the arts campus to thepublic. It advertises current events, performances, festivals, etc to keep thepublic informed.
TheLibrary
Placement
The placement of the library is on the southeastern point on the Arts campus site. Although noise factors generated fromheavy traffic from du Tiot Streetwas a main concern, the decision was made to place it on the street edge tointeract with passing vehicles.
As they drive passed they will see themovement aspect in building tectonics as well as physical animation theinhabitants inside of the library.
Transparency:the visual connection
The library positioning is orientated on anorth - south axis, and faces the street on the southern side and the campus onthe northern side.In continuing the concept of animation the decision was madeto give the library a transparency in order for onlookers of the building tosee the animation inside of it, interacting with the building once again on avisual level.
LectureHalls
Placement
The Lecture halls originally formed part ofthe library as one space. Through the design development stage is was morebeneficial to split the lecture halls from the library in order to create anddefine additional public campus spaces.
‘’Canopies’’to public realms
The lecture halls posed a challenge in thatit had to respond to a larger public realm as well as a new created courtyard.
The end result was that for the Campus piazzaside, the lecture halls located one floor above and facing north serves ascanopies a transitional space for the students. Underneath these ‘’canopies’’the students can sit and view the Campus piazza.
Conclusion
The Center for Arts and Culture is a designintervention fot Tshwane to uplift the current dilapidated fabric of our innercity.
It not only repairs the city fabric but alsothe fabric of a tertiary institution node, a arts camps
that not only lacks sufficient facilities butalso spatial cohesion.
The Center is an intervention to enrich thequality of life those who uses it to encapsulate an environment in which toeducate artists.
