Update

Theatre and the Illusion (notes)

Theatre has the ability to allow people to look into other realities through the shows staged; it also has a unique ability to allow people to easily 'buy' into what they see; this is because we believe or understand what the sets and props represent.

Canary Wharf is a sterile environment, standardized upon a generic grid void of context, its inhabitants void of identity hidden away behind their grey suits, however, beyond these facades is a wealth of life and performances; performances of daily routines locked away behind curtains behind the scenes.  Canary wharf is a sterile threshold hiding a world of opulence.

Aim: To change and transform how canary wharf is viewed and perceived through utilizing the illusion and blurring the thresholds between private and public, allowing the 'inhabitants' to experience other performances and realities apart from their usual daily routines.

The dialogue risen between what is perceived externally as a sterile environment becomes an illusion to what happens internally.  The aim is to reinterpret this illusion; To create interactive vistas and blurred thresholds into a world of realities governed by the illusionary tectonics.

The theatre allows people to view the performance that happen behind the scene, creating vistas and blurring the boundaries between public and private zones, viewing how other realities are created.  These openings and vistas offer glimpses of a variety of productions and the illusions these productions aim to achieve. 

A figural view of the theatre is offered; programmatically public and private spaces will be overlaid allowing the spaces to become intertwined and overlap one another controlled by the illusionary tectonics.

 

Plan rules:  Defined using the figural readings of sterility and opulence to allow control of people into specific areas of the building.  The creation of passageways and vistas that lead from sterile to opulent with emphasis on leading people into the backstage areas from inside and outside the building.  The morphing of components, floor becoming wall becoming ceiling becoming frame.  The transition of the standard panel to become opulent through altering its purpose and with the aim also to blur thresholds through this transition.

sterility  Defined within the formal language as standard, rectilinear void of detail, and texture.

opulence Defined within formal language as organic, detailed and the use of rich materials.

Programmatically there needs to be a blurring of boundaries between spaces, and between public and private areas.  Throughout the building there needs to be corridors/pathways that offer glimpses of the opposite reading i.e within a opulent space there should be vistas into a sterile area to offer the figural reading.  

The Theatres Programs

The program can be categorized through sterility and opulence.  Programmatically the opulence if found where the productions are created, where front of house areas become sterile in comparison.

Sterile Program:

Bookshop

Restaurant

Bar Box office

Front of house

Theatre Seating areas

Cafe

Staff Canteen

 

Opulent Program:

Theatre

Backstage

Fly tower

Scenic construction

Paint frame

Lighting department

Sound Department

Rehearsal Rooms (x6)

Props department

Band Room

Studio Theatre/s

Dressing Rooms (x15)

Wardrobe

Armoury

Green Room

Video Room

Costume Department

Production Department

Casting

Literary

Dye Room

Costume Props

Wigs

 

There are 5 zones

1.            Front of house

                Box office

 

2.            Theatre/s

                Stage

                Back stage

                Fly tower

 

3.            Wardrobe

                Dressing Rooms

                Rehearsal Rooms

 

4.            Props Department

                Lighting Department

                Sound Department

                Scenic construction

                Costume department

                Armoury

 

5.            Production Department

                Casting Department

                Video Room

                Marketing

 

 

Updated Atlas Definitions

 

Illusion = It is a misreading of something:  The act of understanding is immediate and direct and not reflective, therefore your mind gives (for a small amount of time) you a false reading of something.  Your mind immediately refers back to something it knows, thus can give a misreading.

 

An illusion can also be created when your mind purposefully accepts that something is not real: ie. a telephone as a prop in a theatre; the audience knows that the actor is not really on the phone to someone but you accept the meaning behind it.

Areas of illusion:

 

1.       framed views

2.       boundary

3.       multiple viewpoints

4.       figural

5.       permanence

6.       materiality

 

Visually one of its main characteristics it that they are figural; that is they have two or more different readings overlaid and intertwined in a sense that they can still be read independently of one another.  This model starts to explore this; It looks at the sterility to opulence characteristics as well as the office to theatre transitions overlaid.

The Figural: Two or more clear readings can be achieved;   It involves the assignment of specific parts of the object to two or more intertwined shapes, that allow for the brain to interpret the object as two or more separate readings.  Illusions, and therefore propaganda in architecture utilizes this to achieve duel readings and through placing priority on one of the desired readings, pushes a specific desire by the propagator.

Spatial organization to create the illusion: The logic of the figural is to be taken forward into the plan and section, and the formal arrangement of spaces and program.  Within a 'standard' theatre there are 5 types of program: The Theatres (stage, seating, fly tower), Back stage (back stage areas, wardrobe, dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms) , Production (set design, costume design, lighting, sound, and armoury) Office (Marketing, casting, accounts) and  Front of house (Box office, bar, shop, mini stage, seating area)

The program of these and the spatial organization should be in the language of the illusion; overlapping of program to create the figural reading of spaces and program.  Back of house and front of house should be overlaid over the theatre itself to create multiple readings of program.

The illusion of the module: The modules concept utilizes the generic grid and the generic surface to create illusions.  The module that has a figural reading of sterility and opulence, evolving around the theatre, changing to suit the situation; to become unique to its situation however always appear similar.

 

sterility = Dull and uncreative:  An environment that is greyscale, and void of texture and flair. Standardization of spaces and components, the minimum requirements for space.  Symbolically representing, purity, desolate and isolation.  Defined within my design as standard, rectilinear and void of detail, and colour.

opulence = The impressive beauty or grandeur of something.  A lavish display in abundance. An environment that is in abundance of colour, texture and flair.  great attention to detail.  Large, spatial and over the top.  It is implying pouring fourth without restraint. In richly abundant supply.  It symbolically represents wealth or a higher social status and health.   Defined within my design as organic, detailed and the use of rich materials.

Threshold = A changing point or transitional zone.  A transitional space or series of highly articulated spaces.  It is an element of deeply social or emotional significance.  It signifies the change in modes of behaviour (such as taking off ones shoes)  The spaces can be treated an interpenetrating with the blurring of edges and boundaries, with a sense of continuity is created between one space and another.  The breakdown and deconstruction of envelopes, floor and wall planes.

To create a threshold that goes from sterility to opulent would require a transition between a simple and generic language, adding convolution to the language:  modulating the generic.

Approach to structural language = Sterility is defined as void of life and pure, with opulence defined as great attention to detail, wealth and pouring fourth without restraint.  Therefore the formal language should show this contrast, with this language being 'pure', simple and void of texture that transitions to become lavished with great detail and wealth

This language will form a series of 'curtains' and 'stages' that will separate the different performances that occur within the structure, progressing from a standard office performance to a further convoluted and opulent performances dreamt of with delusions of grandeur within day to day office life.

Moments WIPs.

stage/backstage model:  This model shows a figural reading of stage/backstage.  In normal theatres, it is the theatre itself that is lavished with detail and attention, with backstage void of this element of opulence.  However, backstage is where the magic happens, the performance and life that brings the theatre alive, hidden away behind a screen from the public.  Programmatically the opulence is found backstage, a world of activities that bring life to other realities on stage.  The opulence is hidden.  By creating a figural reading of stage/backstage opens up a vista into the programmatic opulence.