Play and Power

PLAY AND POWER Architecture & Dance. Studies in Movement.

Conversion of the Panopticon Prison in Breda into a theatre.

Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

M1/2 design research project Project Tutors: Marieke van Rooij & Jacob Voorthuis

Mia Slavenska, famous Croatian-born Prima Ballerina Source:www.croatia.org

PREMISE:

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he master project studio focused on studies of movement through space and how the body experiences the space surrounding it as a base premise for design. The first weeks were an intensive study in body movement, choosing and further analysing a dance as the spatial relationship created between the dancer (choreographer or space - writer) and the performance space as a written space for movement through. fter that, a building of our choice was to be analysed from the spatial point of view, with its spatial qualities versus movement through the building. Finally, the architectural design was to be developed illustrating a program that we never designed before. After a hallucinating immersion into dance as spatial movement, the design aimed at studying the space sequences that the body moving through will experience.

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An alluring adventure into a moving world....

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Bentham’s Panopticon is the architectural figure of this composition. We know the principle on which is based: at the periphery, an annular building; at the centre, a tower; this tower is pierced with wide windows that open onto the inner side of the ring; the periphery building is divided into cells, each of which extends the whole width of the building; they have two windows, one on the inside, corresponding to the windows of the tower; the other, on the outside, allows light to cross the cell from one end to the other. All that is needed, then, is to place a supervisor in a central tower and to shut up in each cell a madman, a patient, a condemned man, a worker or a schoolboy.�

Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish.

The birth of the prison.

The study of movement through space transformed from the very beginning into a challenging movement through ideas. First, there was the challenge of understanding the movement as it is expressed through dance and then the analysis of body moving through architecture.

The study I made on the Panopticon Prison from Breda, The Netherlands, encompasses this process of understanding both the movement and the building - the movement as a play and the building as a concept of power.

The design came out natural - the prison had to let itself violated by the bodies inside (as Bernard Tschumi would say), in a scenario that best fitted the study in movement. A scenario that would have the crowds inside moving through the same space the prisoners used and would praise the impressive domed interior.

Nothing fits better here than a theatre...

The Prison The Panopticon Prison was built between 1883 and 1886 by arch. JF Metzelaar in the historical centre of Breda, The Netherlands. The building bears great significance as historical value and is still used as a prison. Recently the cells building was extended in the underground with 2 floors for technical spaces and lost its central tower.

Spatial qualities of the prison The prison has a series of spatial qualities besides it’s recognized historical value as the architectural figure of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon and its special position into the historical centre of Breda.

The analysis of movement through space in the building made me think about the games that this building plays when you enter inside.

First of all, it is a game of scale that this building plays skilfully on one’s perception of space. The space simply invades your view from the moment you approach the building.

Gradually, you are overwhelmed by its greatness.

Secondly, there is a game of symmetry. Everywhere you look, the interior exhibits the same array of elements, that surround you from each side you look.

The game of power is the most intense game that the building plays. It simply conquers you and inherently attracts you towards the centre, just like Bentham thought of it when he placed the prisoners around the watchtower.

The game of light is the most subtle. Here the dome throws the aces on the table casting dusty sun rays on the prison’s floor. The theatre inside already has the most impressive decor lights.

Photography with the prison’s interior

Intervention scheme

Service building

The intervention in the building’s structure had to follow a hierarchy of values. The most valuable was the original building (1896) which was best to be preserved.

Only the recent renovations and extensions could be the subject of change. The design of a theatre inside was concentrated on the recently built underground floors where a scenario of three different types of performances was imagined.

Cells building+ 2 floors underground Staircase towers Administration building Depositing spaces

Costume store

Flexibility is the key - not only people move inside, but the seats and the stage should also.

The study of movement through space was thought in the same time with the building’s analysis of spaces. The prison’s main division of spaces - Administration building, Cells building and Services building would become the Theatre’s sequencing of spaces: The Entrance Hall, The Auditorium and the Performers spaces.

Theatre spaces plan view

Performers spaces Ancillary buildings

Prison spaces Performers spaces

Tall gate bordered by towers Dynamic platforms for seating and stage filling the underground levels

Corridor - access for artists Auditorium +stage

Staircase towers Courtyard access Access to galleries Covered courtyard _ Steel structure_ Entrance foyer Corridor - access for public Entrance Hall

Theatre spaces

Tall gate bordered by towers

Entrance foyer Covered courtyard

Cross section through the theatre’s spaces

bordered Tall gate by towers

Stage machinery

cture Steel stru ourtyard Covered c

hall+ Entrance Box office

r Corridor fo s ces public ac

l Technica s e c spa

Extended forklifts er Stairs tow

rs Performe oms ro g in s s dre

Costume stores

Types of performances

1. First scenario - central stage raised up

1. The central stage is raised up at different heights and the audience sits on the stage.

The performers surround the stage and invade the space. It is a unconventional type of performance that would usually resemble contemporary ballet. The performers appropriate the prison’s galleries and the movement inside is very free.

2. A conventional auditorium, with the sitting area lowered towards the central stage.

The technical spaces required are places under the seats and the stage. The audience is seated on the movable platforms and enjoys the performance in the centre.

The cells galleries can be also used for the audience.

2. Second scenario - central stage lowered

3. Everything is brought on the ground level and the performance is held in the centre of the platforms.

3. Third scenario - ground floor platform

This type of performance allows a degree of interaction between the performers and the audience because neither of them has a certain space to occupy. The audience is free to watch from the galleries or merge with the performers.

Narrative sequences of movement

Sequence 1 The sequence of spaces that one would have to pass through is the most important part of the study.

The process of experiencing space was analysed in a continuous change of perspective and scale. First of all, there is the front courtyard, a space that didn’t get too much attention before. Covering this space can provide additional room for the public visiting and crowding at the ticket office.

The courtyard will be the first space to enter after the tall gates. The image suddenly opens in front of you and the steel structure embraces the view.

Sequence 2 It is the space where you stare at everything that surrounds you. Nothing like this would have happened before the prison was converted. Before it was a theatre, you would have entered this courtyard to visit an inmate. This scenario wasn’t that surprising at all. Covering the courtyard allows you to be aware of its limits and to feel the great height that this outdoor space has.

Sequence 3 The front door opens...Before entering the Entrance Hall, you catch a glimpse of the interior and of the following sequence of spaces that you have to pass through.

Somewhere far, between the bars of what appears to be a staircase, you distinguish already a tiny frame of the Auditorium.

Sequence 4 There you are.. Halfway there, in the middle of a dark mysterious place, illuminated by the big windows that cast bright rays on the opposite wall.

The Administration building will function as an Entrance Hall, connected with the other auxiliary spaces needed - cloakrooms, rest rooms. The interior space was opened on two levels, capturing the viewer’s eye towards the great height of the interior. Light plays a capital role in this space that resembles a church’ nave.

Sequence 5 Crossing the Entrance Hall, the next in your movement would be a narrow corridor with windows on both sides. It brings a change of perspective focusing you view towards the other end of the corridor. I wanted to force the movement through this narrow space in order to emphasize the emotion of discovering the auditorium.

Sequence 6 At the end of this corridor you will find the wrought-iron staircase that the prison’s director used to get to the upper galleries.

From this point here, you are still surrounded by the corridor’s darkness that suddenly is diffused into minuscule spots of light descending from somewhere above.

Sequence 7 Here it is! The auditorium! The seats will look towards the centre, emphasizing the central axis that dominates the interior.

Suddenly, the light floods the interior casting blurred spots on the walls and the floor.

The stage has moved up from its position.

This is a mix between the first and the second type of a performance scenario.

The image illustrates a possible ballet rehearsal where the ballerinas dance on the moving stage, and the public would be seated around. The effect of perspective is changed, highlighting the dance itself.

Interior rendering illustrating a ballet performance