ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND | Moxon Architects

The third project undertaken by the practice for the Arts Council England is the largest so far; entailing two phases split across all three levels of a Grade 2 listed industrial building on the Birmingham Canal. Alongside the Arts Council’s regional staff the building will also house national level museum and library specialists; the result being that in effect two distinct sets of occupational requirements have come to bear on the project. Phase 1 of the project is the extensive improvement of the ground floor of the building, comprising both fit out and renovation / restoration works to the listed fabric of the building. The entire ground floor has been redesigned in order to meet full DDA compliance as well as provide a qualitatively much improved facility. With a sequence of progressively more public spaces and opportunities for large and small gatherings the ground level is envisaged by the client as being a national forum to complement their head office in London. As such a number of different design approaches have been brought together into the scheme – for intimate groupings a soft cushioned compartment; an open area for children or informal meetings; and a flexible space for dining, lectures or larger gatherings. In addition formal meeting and lecture rooms have been arranged off a ramped circulation spine, with acoustic separation provided by specialist glazing to maintain visual continuity. The first phase also includes a new entrance / reception area and the vertical circulation to the upper levels of the building. The proposal makes use of reclaimed timber throughout as a wall cladding and finishing to new joinery, materially tying together the variety of spaces provided.