Parasol Gallery, Old Street

The client wanted to create a sequence of gallery spaces which were fitted out to an international standard. The minimal aesthetic of a polished concrete floor and white walls was stipulated from the outset but the spaces needed to allow for flexibility for different types of installations.

The proposal was to create a robust but sophisticated gallery environment which maintained the tranquility of a high quality gallery whilst also providing views out to the beautifully landscaped garden to the rear. The minimal gallery spaces have a calm, softly illuminated ambience created by the daylight coming through the rear glazing reflected in the polished concrete surface of the gallery floor. A complex pairing of underfloor heating and radiant cooling from the ceiling tempers the air within the gallery spaces, with fresh air to the correct humidity drawn through the space, such that there are no visible temperature or air services within the viewing spaces.

Electrical and data provision has been made throughout the floor area to allow for flexibility of future art installations, along with a controlled gallery lighting system. The edge of the gallery floor has an inverted shadow gap such that the concrete finishes against a sharp steel angle to create an edge well. This was to allow for the walls to be repainted regularly without the polished concrete floor becoming stained or damaged.

A large balcony on the first floor increases the level of external awareness, giving opportunity to have a break-out space overlooking the gardens and providing focus for the gallery spaces themselves.

The client wanted to create a sequence of gallery spaces which were fitted out to an international standard. The minimal aesthetic of a polished concrete floor and white walls was stipulated from the outset but the spaces needed to allow for flexibility for different types of installations.

The proposal was to create a robust but sophisticated gallery environment which maintained the tranquility of a high quality gallery whilst also providing views out to the beautifully landscaped garden to the rear. The minimal gallery spaces have a calm, softly illuminated ambience created by the daylight coming through the rear glazing reflected in the polished concrete surface of the gallery floor. A complex pairing of underfloor heating and radiant cooling from the ceiling tempers the air within the gallery spaces, with fresh air to the correct humidity drawn through the space, such that there are no visible temperature or air services within the viewing spaces.

Electrical and data provision has been made throughout the floor area to allow for flexibility of future art installations, along with a controlled gallery lighting system. The edge of the gallery floor has an inverted shadow gap such that the concrete finishes against a sharp steel angle to create an edge well. This was to allow for the walls to be repainted regularly without the polished concrete floor becoming stained or damaged.

A large balcony on the first floor increases the level of external awareness, giving opportunity to have a break-out space overlooking the gardens and providing focus for the gallery spaces themselves.