Quality and Sequence

A word about a word. Reflectance is more an indication of utility than the actual intent. It is transparency which provides both watercolor and the appreciation of the watercolor art.... vitality. The use of these images shows a progression from lower left, as one approaches the site to the top right as one would experience the spaces.

These are quick sketches. A photograph would be exact, however, like watercolor it is the shimmering nature of the edges of an image that make for the experience.

Questions

The questions must be asked- what is a museum and why build it? After all, with the Internet we can see all the art we want-right? We must be in its presence to experience the truths it reveals.

Much like architecture one must see the original- move around it and experience being as far away as the one who created it.

The views of nature enhance and focus this search for truth in beauty.

A place of contemplation, meditation and elevation of the spirit. A Museum of Watercolor can be all of these things: rooted in the land, transected with water and bathed in the light which is essential for human activity.

This then is the beginning of the physical form. The making of a place should nourish and extends the interests of humankind. This should happen in a way that causes man or woman to stop and divert the stream of life away from the mundane towards the savor of ' elan'... of being!

Relationship and Foundation

In the midst of determining my parti I lean on the idea of sturcture and the ability of the site to bear both the building and the intrusion on this verdant landscape. It is such a clear indication to me how sensitive one must be with land which has both history and nature. I will refine the idea of place.
My next post will have the parti for the museum with orientation and a rough layout of the orientation of the rooms and more important the relationship of place to building.
While many places are still spots of creation where an artist or an observer can replentish the spirit on the way to creativity. The place here will allow one to reflect on the place as well as project into the task at hand.

Actual Sun Chart for Blandfield Coordinates

Solar Positioner

http://topweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/antarctica_imagegal/solar_locator.pdf

Site Plan -Building Orientation

Enlarged Schematic site plan

Site, Program and Facts

PROGRAM AND SITE

View from the North of the Model

Schematic Model

The three elements which are demonstrated in the model are water on the lower level (which is constantly in ebb and flow) and will be connected

by a gradual waterfall that links the upper Entry Level with the water shown in this model from left to right.

The Land which is observed in the green roof material and planting around the building and as a living screen on the south side of the building.

And final light which is shown in the multicolor glass which on the following photo of the model to the north.

Relationships and Uses in the Program

Program Spaces

The Program for a New Museum of Watercolor, on Blandfield Plantation, near the Rappahannock River, Essex County, Virginia

Constructing a new Museum for the use and display of American Watercolors is not a new idea. Andrew Wythe, John Singer Sargent, James Hubbell to name a few have created a place for their works. However, a private museum with limited exposure houses only part of the created cross-sections of styles. It is this building, which combines Land, Water, and Light. This is a focused building which will crystallize the effort to show and preserve the various styles of this art.

Program Spaces

The spaces will be divided into:

key:

prefix B = Lower Level

prefix 1 = Entry level

prefix 2= Second Floor (Roof Observation and Viewing)

Room # Name (square foot of space)

101 -Administrative offices (400 s.f.)
102 -Research (200 s.f.)
103 -Restoration workroom (200 s.f.)
108-110 -Three galleries (total 4,000 s.f. and having a minimum of 250 Linear Feet/ Gallery for Display in each Gallery)
B101 -Storage facilities (3,000 s.f)
104 -Electronic Media Room (220 s.f.)
105 -A gift shop (240 s.f.)
B102 -Educational Rooms and Workshops (3,200 s.f.)
106 - Horizontal (Cardo) and Vertical Circulation (1,230 s.f.)
107 -Mechanical (400 s.f.)
B103 - Utility (200 s.f.)
B104 - Loading spaces (1,500 s.f.)
111 - Auditorium (3,200 s.f.)
Outdoor studio spaces
201 -Patios and Decks used by artist for painting and observatory (4,000 s.f.)

Total: 24,590 square feet of covered (Interior and Exterior) spaces

Theory and the New Museum

April 4

Theory

1. Land


2. Water


3. Light (Sky)

Through a process of additive and subtractive elements a program was derived which provides a basis for a new design. It is more than just about program it is about land, water and creativity and the search to express materially the relationships between these main conditions. That is, where the land is primarily about stasis (our referenced locus of history), water's fluidity which is the continuous cycle of movement and freedom. Light is the backdrop for watercolors and nature allowing the negotiating the relatioship between water and land.

The materiality which is forthcoming will reflect technology. And while not accepting its mindset, materiality will be generative from program.

With notes

Collage #4

Collage 3

Collage 2