Daped concert hall

Abstract: Through the development of draping and pleating methods of heavy fabric referring indirectly to the stage Curtain, the aim of the project is to study ambiguous coexistence of masking and exposing made by repetitive folds, simultaneously developing technique studies and site analysis and apply them to make a new concert hall for Stockholm.The thesis defines the concert hall a public space, and further develops the concert hall as a public space by exposing the commonly inaccessible backstage area in on the ground floor Visitors and concert-goers have the opportunity to look behind the scenes and reconsider the value of art by seeing how a piece of music has been shaped and rehearsed. There are some performance halls throughout Europe that open their backstage doors to the public in order to see what is going on behind the stage.Ways of disclosing the backstage has been achieved through design technique studies and by considering the history of folded fabric in a design research.The main part of the research is based on the theoretical influence that Semper specified in his book Style, the topic of textiles and their relationship in architecture and it has been completed by developing a terminology and meanings defined by contemporary artist Petra Blaisse in her book Inside outside.Throughout history, many artists have spent time on the study of fabric and folds; an example is the dramatic drapery in Baroque sculptures such as the “Bernini folds,” making a hard material appears soft. I tried to take advantage of all the qualities that heavy fabric can offer for the development of my building and use most of the information that can be derived from fabrics application.An example of applying these qualities is making deep semi masked openings. Making apertures through deep folds to rehearsal rooms, the folds open and close visually as people pass by. By continuing this method and using the qualities of deep surfaces from outside to inside I tried to achieve a backstage that is both open and masked in the same time.The project has been started by focusing on two parallel tracks of site and technique study.The site is located on the Djurgården. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries. Galärparken is located between three museums that are known for their historical heritage. This site requires very careful design in relation to buildings surrounding it. However; the site provides a good context for a distinctive building that creates identity and contributes to a good overall situation. Parallel to the site analyzes the design technique studies have been developed.The proposal has been developed through analyzing two parallel tracks of pleating and draping.Within the pleating method linear techniques have been investigated to make repetitive folds to define surfaces, and extruding techniques have been investigated to create volumetric depth.Draping methods are: fluttering, masking, fullness and tassel. After defining and refining each of the techniques, they have been applied at a building scale to articulate the material organization of the concert hall.Tassel: Tying fabric from one end and hang it. framing space while having fabric freely.A tuft of loosely hanging fabric, cords, or other material knotted at one end ” ...another of white cashmere, draped in heavy folds, hanging in half moons and caught at every interval with splendid white silk tassels, each draping being trimmed with a narrow silk fringe” Gottfried Semper, StyleFluttering: To make small, gentle movements in the air, to move something in a particular direction by pulling it gently e.g. “A wind machine blew air in to the drape and made it flutter” Inside outside, Petra BlaisseMasking: To cover or hide something so it cannot be clearly seen. A set of curtains or scenic elements used to define the visual limits of a performance area.” Glossary of Theatre termsFullness: The condition of being full with chunky pleats. Fullness is a common term used to describe an aspect of stage curtains; it is directly attributable to the amount of pleating present. For instance, a curtain that has no pleating at all (a flat sheet) has 0% fullness; a curtain that has 100% fullness will start out as fabric that is twice as wide as required.”Glossary of Theatre terms.The project’s program is to make a 1500-seat auditorium.The project is made of two different layers. The first layer shapes the outer envelope and the other layer is happening inside enveloping the auditorium. These two layers are connected by different shaped slabs at different levels. The auditorium drapes loosely between the slabs at different levels. The circulation between floors take places all around the auditorium. Each level has a view to the other floors so the flow of people can be seen from different levels.The first floor is accessible for all people and provides an open plan while exposing backstage and makes transition between Nordiska museum and the waterfront.The fullness quality has been introduced in three parts of the exterior envelope in relation to the site. The first is the part that faces the Nordic museum including one of the entrances between the folds.The next part is the part that faces to Stockholm and again openings are embedded between the folds.The last pleated part is located within the side that faces Vasa museum. The Vasa museum is here in close proximity with the concert hall. In respect to the Vasa museum the concert hall has been pushed in, and deep surfaces can be seen here as well.The inner layer has been shaped also by deep surfaces made by deep folds. At ground floor, where the back stage is located, the deep folds can make semi open apertures and provide a view to rehearsal rooms for visitors. From the other side the semi masked openings of the backstage faces a cafeteria with seats with a view to the training rooms.On the other floors, folds create openings to the auditorium from different sides.The concert hall has been shaped with respect to site and adjacent buildings. The implementation and coexistence of masking and revealing strategies have been developed through design techniques studies and subsequently influenced the design.