My Lightbulb Moment!

After struggling with what the program for my proposal should be for several weeks I had a bit of a 'light bulb' moment yesterday and came up with this proposal:

The main idea is that you would move through the 3 buildings (number 22, 24-26 and what is currently the gap at what would have been number 28) following the research and design process.

Number 22: This would be an archive collection of materials relating to Spitalfields and the silk trade in London during the 18th and 19th Century. It would be a place where artists and designers could come to learn about the area and specifically the silk industry. It would be the most private of the 3 spaces but still accessible to the local community.

Number 24-28: This would be a workshop and creative space with enough room for traditional weaving to be taught and with smaller rooms available for experimenting with ideas and techniques learnt at the archive. It would be semi private/public with a more transparent facade and viewing platforms. Artists will be able to interact with the community.

New building: The new building in the 'gap' will be a public space for the exhibiting and selling of work made in the neighbouring workshop space. It will be a very transparent building encouraging the local community to become part of the design process and also attracting new visitors to the area. It will be a space where ideas and techniques learnt through the research and making process can be shared.

I think the circulation of the buildings will be very important as I really want it to reflect the research and design process. The role that research, especially historical research, plays in the design process really interests me and I think this can be seen through the projects that I have looked at for inspiration. I found the 6A project at Raven Row so interesting because all of their decisions about form and material were based on research they had done into the buildings history and material techniques (such as the burnt wood). I have tried to approach this project in the same way; the historical research that I did into Spitalfields led me to discover the importance of the silk trade to Fournier Street and since then I have been experimenting with silk as a material which I will hopefully use in the making of my work and as a part of the final design proposal.

I do not yet want to worry too much about what form the buildings will take but think that this is an important step forward as it will allow me to focus my research and move on with the project.