The AD: Tectonics Unit Weathering Well encourages students to look at the parallels between the aging of buildings, and the aging of the human body, with a movement focussed programme being the connection between these two groups - encouraging people to move and age gracefully whilst returning a decaying flytower back into use. The idea of how weathering relates to time became an important design aspect within this project. Just as people change over time, so too should buildings, therefore designing a structure that is adaptable to the city's current and future needs became a key area of focus. At present Dundee’s city is not an economically viable place for the King’s Theatre to reopen, however with the city’s 2050 regeneration master plans it should hopefully be a more viable option in the future. Retaining the flytower aims to act as an instigator for the renovation of the theatre as a whole in the future when Dundee has become a more regenerated city - because without the flytower there can be no touring housing theatre. This renovation of the flytower therefore acts as a facilitator for the future renewal of the theatre, with an aerial dance studio embedded within, during the present, to get use out of the vertical structure before it returns back to a flytower, with the dance studio being easily disassembled and moved out onto prepared sites upon the adjacent courtyard. This has resulted in a parallel design outcome - how can you adapt a building for a new use, that will have a further future purpose? Designing for the future with present day inhabitation...
Antonia Graham
Project description
Festival Theatre Flytower Visit
Intergenerational Movement Programme
The vertical nature of a flytower lends itself well to uses that require tall, elongated spaces, perfect for the leaping movements of dance and draping of aerial silks. Movement has been found to aid the aging body with silks being beneficial due to the supportive and lifting nature of the fabric. Many creatives are beginning to advocate how dance does not require skill and that everybody can dance no matter your age or ability, therefore everybody can do aerial as well.
At present many dance and movement classes encourage different ages and body types to try out classes, however a large majority are segregated between age groups. Intergenerational activities, as well as intergenerational dance groups, can have benefits for all those participating. Intergenerational classes help remove the prejudices against aging, help to build social confidence for people both young and old, help tackle social isolation particularly within older age groups, and bring communities closer together. Therefore this dance studio is designed with an intergenerational movement programme as the focus.
Tectonics
A permanent steel structure wraps around three edges of the existing masonry container acting as a form of bracing for the masonry walls, as well as circulation space for present and future uses. These open runways along the East and West facades allow for gangways of a flytower, where the flyers can attach and remove weights, and acts as viewing galleries into the aerial dance studios creating a boundary of privacy between the dance activities inside the building, and the world outside.
Each of the structural systems are separated from each other by a 500mm gap, this allows light filtration, future cable extension for fly use and separates different thresholds. Lightly attached between the metal and timber structure are demountable metal bridges that create a material threshold where the user atmospherically understands they are entering a new space with a different use.
A demountable timber structure sits within the permanent steel structure inhabiting the area of where the stage will return. This safeguards the stage area from any potential future adaptations being made to it and allows for large open spaces on the different floor planes, perfect for dance and movement.
The 'Get In' and 'Get Out'
The ‘get in’ was once an opening in the façade in which large set scenery could be hoisted into the flytower. This opening has since been infilled, however the ghost of its silhouette remains due to the materiality differences of aging. Although the 'get in' is usually located on the back of a theatre, due to the narrow lane, the 'get in' had to be upon the front façade on the roadside at the King’s.
Furthermore, once the building returns to a flytower those who use and frequent the aerial dance studio will not want to give up their dance space, therefore the internal timber structure has been designed to be demountable, with two openings created in the existing masonry walls both for light and ventilation purposes, but also for the logistics of easily moving the timber pieces in and out of the building. When the building returns to a flytower the dance studio can easily demount and reassemble in preprepared locations in the adjacent courtyard, therefore the dance studio will not have to move too far away. Constraint by the courtyard access, the reestablishment of the ‘get in’ on the NE façade, and creation of a ‘get out’ upon the SW façade will allow for a seamless flow in and out of the masonry structure.
Proposed Plans
Present and Future Visualisations
Antonia Graham
