12th century
25%
Gard ens
connecting neighbourhoods
Ar ch e iv
re Lectu n e tch i K
dios u t S
celebrating culture
Readin g R oo m
ms Ite
Decoding the Archive Typology
protection, access, and everything inbetween.
n tio bi
Per so na l
Ex hi
ings g n lo Be
The archive makes up a quarter of the overall programme, supported equally by exhibitis, and then a variety of educational and community focused programming.
Thesis Rationale
R
s tie it vi Ac
Ultimately this project’s aims to build a skill set for designing a modern archive through the lens of promoting access and protection in harmony.
21st century Lending Libra ry
Collection
historic and important record of the city’s growth
Offices
s ht
16.7%
The archive makes up an equal 16.7% segment of this institution, balanced with an array of other community based functions. tackling stigma
“For a very long time, LGBTQ+ topics were subcategorised in Abnormal Psychology, Perversion, Social problems and other categories, which no one should strive to uphold in a system. Eurocentricity and their gender bias make it among other aspects already mentioned not suitable for the collection Glasgow Women’s Library is proud to have.”
Programme Programme
a balanced and comprehensive programme.
Culture
Collection
an eagerness to spread knowledge of Alasdair Gray.
Culture
preserving the world of Alasdair Gray.
“As an inclusive and safe space, it is important that everyone is able to find the book they are looking for, without searching and struggling with letters and numbers for hours...The Library itself has a cosy and welcoming atmosphere, which the classification of the collection should not contrast with but complement.”
Re
ary Libr e nc re e f
a focus on building connections.
ive ch Ar
Re fer e n cin g
y ar br Li
e
es ss
Ar ch i
C o m m uni t y Cl a
Cafe
Dewy Decimal System Heirerarchical and Eurocentric
sharing experiences
ition hib Ex
The archive makes up 24% of the programme, supported by an array of other facilities focused mainly on educating.
Arc hiv e
U n i qu e I ns ig
“The City Archives collects, preserves, manages and provides access to the documentary heritage of Glasgow and other parts of the West of Scotland. Our collections include both official and private records, and tell the story of Glasgow and its people from the 12th century to the 21st.”
ve
The Masters research project aims to uncover more answers on how to design for a “community archive” or “accessible archive” by unpicking the nature of the archive typology and understanding what
24%
ent hm s re ef
community driven.
Wo r
Through the design process in stage 5 I began to realise that there was more to this topic, and felt I had only been able to scratch the surface of it. I felt this was something I could take forward into the masters and uncover new insights on the workings of the archive.
This project will utilise two different methodologies for interrogating the archive: First, analysis will be carried out on three case studies located in Glasgow through field research, and the nature of these archives will be analysed in order to understand how they work, what component parts complete them, and how they interact with the communities they serve. Secondly, I will take findings from this field research to support a desk based re-interrogation of my own stage 5 thesis project, allowing a chance to revist the project from an analytical standpoint, uncovering how successful the design was at delivering an accessible archive.
Programme
an open door for all members of the community.
formal, quiet, studious.
Lending Library
This thesis set out to challenge the idea that the most important function of the archive is to act as a vault, protecting the material held within at the cost of allowing open access to that material. Instead, the stage 5 thesis proposed the archive as a facility that gives back to the city it resides in, celebrating the communities surrounding it and acting as an active cultural hub as opposed to a stagnant vault.
Culture
Culture
components allow a building to function as an archive. How these components can be designed to change the essence of that archive will dictate how accessible the building can allow its material to be and how relevant the archive can be to the modern community.
ls Too nd ka
The contradiction of access and protection is one that defines the nature of the archive and is a concept that I challenged in my stage 5 thesis project.
S t u dy S p ac
83.3%
The archive makes up the vast majority of this facilities functions, it is the key focus of this instituion. GWL’s Feminist System Equal and Diverse
artefacts Historic Condition
Industrial Peak 1900
The Vault The Archive
Programme
Processes
a rich Programme educational programme
outdated and inaccessible browsing and booking process
Processes
Collection
rethinking organisation to promote inclusivity.
celebrating the everyday and forgotten.
Programme
Processes
Programme
a unique organisational strategy of recreation.
a focus on the archive.
Industrial Decline 1960
people
2024
Collection
a balance of historically signifigant material for the sites industrial past and donations of new collections that build a picture of the new diverse and rich community in Molenbeek.
Processes
Arrival of items vs arrival of people.
Defining the Archive
how does the archive behaves differently than the vault?
Overall User Exprience
Collection
Culture
Programme
Processes
Architecture
In order to understand the typology better, I have identified 5 key aspects of the archive which generate an overall image of what the archive is like. I have used these 5 aspects in the project to break my research down into 5 chapters, analysing the case studies through the lens of each, and summarising their impact on the user experience in an “experience map” for each case study.
Deconstructing the Archive breaking down the five “chapters”
SHE SETTLES IN THE SHIE PAGEANT OF GREAT WOM HOW THE VOTE WAS WON INFLUENCE
TEN THOUSA
HOPE AND O THER STORIE SKY THE HE ART OF A W
Covert Observation The participants are not made aware of the observer’s presence as a researcher.
Overt Observation The participants are aware of the researcher observing them, and what their research entails.
CAGED BIRD SINGS GRIT AYE WORKIN A GUID CA UBBITY WOM EN
VOTES
Research Method 1
covert and overt observations, utilised in case studies 1,2 and 3.
HEL
LO
every WE
LC
one
O ME
stage 5 thesis
New Findings new findings uncovered from exploration of the first three case studies through field research.
Reapplied to Stage 5 Project desk based re-interrogation of the stage 5 thesis project, acting as case study four, in order to evaulate the outcome of the original design in regards to accessibility.
Research Method 2
re-interrogation of the stage 5 thesis equipped with new findings.
Experience Mapping for The Glasgow City Archives
Experience Mapping for Glasgow Women’s Library
Experience Mapping for The Alasdair Gray Archive
Experience Mapping for the Stage 5 Thesis Archive
“Embedding”
“Comprehensive”
“Immersive”
“Connection”
Conclusions and Reflections
protection, access, and everything inbetween. Reflection Reflecting on the processes and methods I utilised in this research, I feel that both the observational research and interrogative research both offered successful ways of analysing the archive.
Following the field research with a redrawing study of my stage 5 thesis project, offered an opportunity to unpick new findings from the field research and rethink my design process my re-interrogating my own work.
I was able to gain first hand insight into the archive and the experience of the user acting as a covert researcher. This allowed me to view the archive from the users perspective and changed a lot of the high level ideas I had about how the archive works. Overtly speaking with archivists and being offered access to archive stores of some of the case study buildings, provided another layer of new understanding of the spaces and people who are crucial to the everyday running of these buildings.
Reflecting on the findings of this research, the two different research methods have offered me many new insights into the archive typology that I felt were lacking in my design process in stage 5. I have uncovered the ways these buildings function on a level beyond what I was able to understand previously, having never used an archive or spent much time in one. I have a better understanding of why these buildings exist and how they integrate with the communities aurrounding them.
Architecture
the vault like entrance to the archive room.
Conclusion Through interrogating the 4 chosen case studies, utilising both observational research methods in the field, and desk based analysis methods, I’ve uncovered new findings on the archive typology. In relation to the five key aspects of the archive that I identified, I have gained an understanding of the components that come together to form an archive. Generating experience maps of the four archive buildings helped me summarise the user experience of the archives, and put into context the relevance of the five key factets of the archive on the overall accessibility and connection to the community. The maps depict the diversity across the typology, with the The Glasgow City Archives map depicting the formality this archive imposes on the user. The Glasgow Women’s Library map captures the balance of this inclusive and accessibility driven institution.
The Alasdair Gray Archive revealed an unconventional institution, celebrating an unconventional artist. The traditional sense of organisation and preservation is overtaken by the desire to create an emmersive experience for the user. Finally, reinterrogation and mapping of my own stage 5 thesis project, helped me understand how successfully my design cultivated an accessible space for connection and education. re-analysing the building using findings from the first three case studies, I was able to revist unresolved aspects of the design such as, the programme, the collection, and the processess which would allow interaction between artefacts and user. Overall, I feel I have gained a deeper understanding of the way archives can be designed and how this can improve their relevance and impact on a modern society.
Architecture
the three facades of the Mitchell Library.
Architecture
the first residence of the Glasgow Women’s Library, Garnethill storefront.
Architecture
the new residence of the larger Glasgow Women’s Library institution.
Architecture
the industrial facade of The Whisky Bond.
Architecture
the contrast of solid and light, echoing the contrast of access and protection | the open landscape and the tall tower growing up from it.