9 Infirmary Street
2020
Edinburgh College of Art
Gallery design project with a focus on vertical circulation. The existing site was 9 Infirmary Street, previously a church that had been converted into offices.
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Unfortunately due to the Pandemic this project was never fully developed.
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My intention with this project and site was to bring some of the original character of the building back into the design. The site was originally a church but had been converted into offices in a way that hid its true character and history completely.
Some elements of the external fabric of the building that stood out to me were the barrel-vaulted rooms in the basement and the arched windows on all four sides. I intended to emulate these characteristics by bringing these shapes into the interior architecture of the space.
Design Concept
Every room in the gallery has a vaulted ceiling and every doorway is arched. The only linear, angular feature in the gallery is the staircase, which was an intentional design decision to create a contrasting, contemporary intervention within a historic space.
It seemed necessary that the dramatic ceiling heights within the building were revealed. The ceiling heights in the gallery increase as you rise through the building, starting with the relatively low vaulted ceilings in the basement and ascending to the first floor with a ceiling height of approximately 5.5m. The void spanning all three floors in the centre of the building, with the monolithic marble staircase rising from the basement is over 13m high creating a dramatic, memorable space.
Plans + Sections
Stair Design
The intention was for this stair to be focal point of this space when entering. It's directional nature draws one’s eyes upwards to take in the full cathedral-like height of gallery space in 9 Infirmary Street. The stair is clad in repeating sequence of several types of marble in jewel and earth tones. The intension of this design decisions was to further emphasize the vertical nature of the space as well as the grandeur and opulence that the old church will have had.
Models showing development of stair design
