Modern Art, Contemporary art gallery, London 2008


photo : Ioana Marinescu

Eastcastle Street, with its generous ground floor showrooms and proximity to Oxford Street's shops, was once the centre of London's ragtrade. In the last few years the area has undergone a shift in identity with the departure of clothing manufacturers to the Far East, and the arrival of several East End art galleries. Stuart Shave Modern Art was the first gallery to open on Vyner Street in Bethnal Green which has since become the centre of the East End art scene. His arrival in the West End marks the beginning of a new phase in the gallery's development, reinforced by the success of artist Nigel Cooke's opening show, " The New Accursed Art Club"
The new gallery occupies the ground floor and basement of a modest 1950's office building. The design approach was to exploit the positive attributes of the existing building and urban context to the gallery's advantage. Grey engineering brick piers in the new shopfront create a precise and suitably proportioned base to the brick clad structure above while the optically clear flush glazing accentuates the first gallery's connection to the street. The layout of the interior is more like a house than a showroom, with a deep entrance loggia, lobby and changes of direction at the entrance to each room, that heighten the gradual sense of calm and remove from the street.
Whilst the galleries are firmly in the tradition of the "white cube", the client's characteristic informality steered the design. The office space is within the gallery, removing the familiar separation of the public and private sides of the art business; oak floors and off white wall linings ensure that the white hanging walls are framed within an interior architecture concerned with comfort as well as appearances.

Flash, Temporary restaurant, Royal Academy of Arts 2008-09


photo : Ioana Marinescu

Situated in the West Room of 6 Burlington Gardens, Flash was a temporary restaurant open for three months, closing in January 2009, as part of the season of contemporary arts, GSK Contemporary hosted by the Royal Academy of Arts. David Kohn Architects collaborated with restaurateurs, Pablo Flack and David Waddington of Bistrotheque, illustrator Rory Crichton and fashion designer Giles Deacon on the design.
Our approach made the most of the existing architecture, co-opting its grandness into the project, whilst achieving a light, playful atmosphere. A new timber structure made of stacked art crates was erected between each of the room's cast iron columns, accentuating their presence and framing the three major windows on the west wall. Each section of wall was divided following Classical rules of composition. The effect was to tighten the proportions of the space lending the interior a more elegant character.
From the outset, there was an interest in trompe l'oeil and Pompeiian wall paintings in which fantastical spaces, populated by dancing figures, gardens and animals, would extend beyond the walls of the interior. Decorative infill panels depicting sinuous plants, birds and animals glimpsed through a felt mesh fence were installed alongside recessed mirrors. The history of the site as the garden of Burlington House was reimagined, alongside a more gritty urban landscape beyond Mayfair.

Information / images from David Kohn Architects