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This book would not have been possible without the support of the MAP curatorial team, in particular, Arnaud Mortimer for taking the photographs
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Contents Foreword Introduction
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Overview
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MAP 2013
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MAP at Arts University Bournemouth
Photographs - Arnaud Mortimer Interview - Stuart Bartholomew Interview - Violet McClean Interview - Tom Marsh Interview - Roger Gould
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MAP at Lighthouse
Setting Up - 18 - 21 November Photographs - Arnaud Mortimer Private View Interview - Elspeth McBain Interview - Channa Vithana
Curator Interviews
Beverley Angove Pacha Brady Sophie Clarke Arnaud Mortimer Aaron Parratt
About MAP
Reflection Referencing
Acknowledgements Selected Bibliography and Image List
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Foreword Channa Vithana Curator Senior Lecturer, BA(Hons) Architecture Arts University Bournemouth
MAP is an entreaty to anyone who thinks that locally based, researchled architecture cannot stimulate or provoke. Since 2011 when MAP exhibited truly striking projects, some of which were indistinguishable from work at a much higher level, and a purpose-built Acoustic Performance Space, the exhibition has proved to dispel the perception of what a Level 5 BA (second year) architecture student can achieve. At AUB students at all levels in the architecture programme are capable of working beyond their perceived limitations, and MAP is one example of that evidence. The ability to work with professional bodies, industry people, academics and fellow students makes a MAP assistant curator a very special person indeed, such is the dynamism and depth of character needed to take the reigns of a sometimes unwieldy live project. MAP has been exhibited in 2011 and 2012 at the Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts. In 2013 MAP was exhibited at The Gallery at AUB, taking on both of its galleries confidently to very positive response from academic staff, students and visitors, inclusive of the international summer school programme. MAP 2013 at the Lighthouse is new once again, yet building upon the endeavours put in place since 2011. As a result, for a student to be a MAP assistant curator it means so much more than simply installing a few frames and models.
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Introduction Sophie Clarke Editor/Curator
The task of building an exhibition is something which cannot be done without the right people. They must be fastidious, hard working, and most of all, they must communicate. Throughout the process, communication has been key, making sure that everybody is working well and offering support if necessary. MAP is a team effort and if that communication breaks down it becomes much harder to ensure the exhibition is a success. The five curators, Beverley Angove, Pacha Brady, Sophie Clarke, Arnaud Mortimer and Aaron Parratt all had different roles within the exhibition series but worked together in building the final product. This book doesn’t so much document the process, but the final exhibitions and the reactions to it from staff, academics and professionals. The books also questions the students who made both the MAP at Arts University Bournemouth and the MAP at Lighthouse exhibitions possible through hard work and perseverance. The meticulous work which went on behind the scenes to ensure that everybody in the Level 5 Architecture cohort was represented well in the exhibition is inestimable. The curators talk about their roles, what they have learnt and how they think their involvement with MAP will affect their position within architectural practice. This learning was the key goal in creating the exhibitions, focussing each person’s practice on their ambitions within architecture.
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About MAP Overview
MAP, or Music Architecture Poole is an exhibition which has been taking place at the Lighthouse in Poole for the last three years. MAP displays theoretical architectural work from the level 5 [second year] cohort from the BA (Hons) Architecture course at the Arts University Bournemouth. All of the work shown within the exhibition is based in Poole, it serves as a prompt to the public which see the exhibition. It shows them what Poole could be, its potential to be a place where people want to spend time. The MAP exhibitions in both 2011 and 2012 solely used the work from the level 5 Music School project as the basis for the exhibition. In 2013, this changed, the structure of the course changed and added a third unit to level 5. The three projects of which level 5 comprises all still utilise Poole as a site, this encourages students to examine Poole with an analytical eye. This would include a study of how people view Poole, how easy it is to navigate and how as a town it allows people to interact with it. The three units all focus on a particular specialism within architecture; the Curiosity Shop on urban context, Music School on use and form and the Future Scenarios on masterplanning and change over time. Although all of the work in the exhibition come from the Music School and the Future Scenarios project, each student’s personality and interests come through in the resultant work. This diversity in both representations and concept means that the 2013 MAP exhibition holds a broad range of ideas for the future of Poole. The exhibition is led by Channa Vithana, the lead tutor for level 5 and curated by students; In 2011, Daniel Hambly and Christina VarvouniGiatrakou, in 2012, Emily Moult and Matthew Samuel and this year it was taken on by five, each student given a specialism to explore further. The legacy of each exhibition is important, ideas are taken forward and improved, allowing each curator to instill their own unique concept within the exhibition. This palimpsest is aided by the ethos of the exhibition, re-use, adapt and recycle. This included repairing frames from previous exhibitions and a continuation of the language of plywood
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and its linear form. However, this makes the input of the curator even more important, as each exhibition must have a unique element to mark it apart from the previous year. This legacy and palimpsest is a defining element of MAP, the recognisable elements that have been reappropriated and adapted for the new curator’s vision. The defining element of all of the MAP exhibitions has been the links to professionals and industry that it fosters. The experience of having a professional relationship with venues, and professionals who can bring expertise in different subjects. This has come in the form of Tekne, specialists in CAD/CAM manufacture, CODA, a music school, as well as consultations with tutors in graphic design, photography and digital media production. It is this rich body of past work and expertise which makes MAP successful in both 2011 and 2012, and this will provide a springboard for the 2013 exhibitions to be just as successful.
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MAP 2013
The 2013 Music Architecture Poole exhibition is slightly different to its incarnations in 2011 and 2012. This year there are two exhibitions, one at TheGallery at Arts University Bournemouth and one, as per previous years, at Lighthouse in Poole. The exhibition in July at TheGallery, Arts University Bournemouth was the first major retrospective of the series of MAP exhibitions. This exhibition showcased work from both the 2011 and 2012 exhibitions as well as some work from the 2013 cohort. The aim of this exhibition was to establish the progress of MAP over the past three years. Instead of two assistant curators working with Channa Vithana, there are five, each has a different role in making MAP a successful enterprise. Beverley Angove is working to make a working model of Lighthouse, this will be used to show clients spaces for hire. The model will be an accurate depiction of spaces at Lighthouse and can be used as part of their plans to expand and modernise the building. The model was designed and built in consultation with Lighthouse using acrylic and plywood. The model will be kept by Lighthouse and used by them after the completion of the exhibition. Pacha Brady is curating the visual aspect of the exhibition, adopting the ethos of re-use, adapt and recycle used in the previous exhibitions. Pacha designed and constructed the new frames as part of the exhibition at the Arts University Bournemouth, and began researching exhibition design and how boxes to display work could be fixed to the wall. The brackets and boxes were constructed from donated wood which would have been disposed of. The frames from the last two exhibitions have been reused to highlight the legacy of MAP. But new elements such as the walnut which features in the mount give the 2013 Lighthouse exhibition its own identity Sophie Clarke curates the content of the exhibition, going through each student’s submitted work to find pieces which will fit in the exhibition. This task also includes re-appropriating the work to make it clearer or easier to understand. Her work is to ensure that the content and message of the exhibition correlates. The aim of the exhibition is to
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create a collection of work that focuses on Poole and the place that Poole could be. After the selection of work for the exhibitions the creation of a catalogue as a document of both the Arts University Bournemouth and Lighthouse exhibitions. Her role is also to create a logo, invitations and feedback sheets. Arnaud Mortimer’s role is to create a comprehensive photographic study of Lighthouse. This comes as a continuation of his research into photography and his enjoyment of the subject. His study will be used by Lighthouse staff to show clients and financial backers different areas of Lighthouse. They will also be displayed to demonstrate the beauty of the unknown spaces of Lighthouse to the public that uses it. Aaron Parratt has undertaken a painstaking survey of the building as a whole, he will use this to compile a complete, correct set of drawings of Lighthouse. These will be used by Lighthouse to help with the expansion and modernisation of the building. These will then be converted into hand-drawn perspectives to enable the public to interact with the drawings if they were every put on display. These five elements of MAP 2013 will help shape the exhibition into something that can improve the Lighthouse and people’s understanding of the town they live in.
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MAP at The Gallery, Arts University Bournemouth 08 - 24 July 2013 Photographs Arnaud Mortimer
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Interview Stuart Bartholomew Principal + Vice Chancellor Arts University Bornemouth
What do you find fascinating about architecture? Architecture fills in spaces that would otherwise have openness, they may have landscape, they may have other things but I like architecture because of the way it forms spaces. That of course begs the question of whether you like all architecture, and I certainly don’t, I like the formations which are of very high-quality standard and I think those have a credibility about them that anchors space with a dignity, a creative quality and so on , so it’s very much about the organisation of space that interests me. Do you have a favourite building or architect? Some of them are a little bit corny, I mean the Guggenheim in New York is a classic and it is a very inspiring space, sometimes you don’t always need things as grand or as recognised, I used to have a very good shed and it gave me immense pleasure every time I both saw it and went in it and what they had in common, and going from Frank Lloyd Wright to my shed is significant distance of travel but they really did have a shape which supported what you did within it, the function fulfilled and that is always pleasing, when there isn’t a redundancy of form of what you do, there’s a complementarity. Those are two of many, many buildings which are very exciting and stimulating. What was it about the MAP 2012 exhibition at Lighthouse which caused you to offer The Gallery at AUB to us? The thing about exhibitions, it’s not universally the case, but the thing that I always look to in exhibitions is whether the individual exhibits together with those to their left and their right or that stand, add up to more than those exhibits considered singly. If you were just looking at one of the pieces you would have a positive view but if you took them as a whole, it was very positive. That the exhibition is more than the sum of its parts and I think that’s something we always are looking to, particularly in a student environment, that it’s not just one student, it’s the relationship of what they’re doing with others. There’s a complimentarity in the work. The other thing that did strike me was the materials that were used had a coherence so there was a toning of the exhibition which pulled it together. It was very well framed albeit from
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recycled materials. All of it looked like a properly curated exhibition, it didn’t look like a collection of disparate elements. What are you reflections from the resultant MAP exhibition at The Gallery at AUB (8th – 24th July 2013)? What I found very encouraging, you have to go back a number of years and I have been here for quite a while and was the prime mover in reclaiming architecture for this institution, we taught architecture here in the 50s and then it was taken away because architectural education was rationalised and placed in these new animals, which were called the polytechnics, so one to Plymouth and one to Portsmouth and they took it out of the smaller, very specialist art and design institutions where architecture had always had a place. What I think was very evident within the AA and within RIBA was that architecture should be reclaimed by creative environments. The most important thing about bringing Architecture back into a small art and design based university like ourselves is the connection between architecture and the other subjects we offer. The course lives in a creative environment in which the connections between diverse creative disciplines are easily forged. One of the more distinguished alumni of architecture here is Sir Peter Cook, who still references his education here in his work, this is something we want to continue and set as a kite mark for architecture students such as yourself. We are at a stage where students from this university are dominating subjects like photography, for instance. Costume design is another, a few years ago two of our graduates of costume design worked in the costume department for ‘The King’s Speech’, the costumes department alone were nominated for five awards including an Oscar. Film is another industry in which our graduates are beginning to dominate, and it is taking this forward and having a complementarity in our courses which allows this creative environment to unfold. As someone who instigated the BA (Hons) Architecture course at AUB, how would you like it to progress? This is my opinion, it may vary slightly with Simon’s but the direction I think we will head in keeps the course small, the course is small, in terms of Oxford Brookes has an intake of 150 in comparison to the 50
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we take, however, along with MArch and a possible expansion to include part three means we would have to relocate. This would mean that eventually we would come to the point where we would have a School of Architecture on campus. This School of Architecture would be intricately linked with Interior Architecture and the Architectural Model-making courses, bringing these courses together under one roof.
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Interview Violet McClean Senior Gallery Officer TheGallery Arts University Bournemouth
In comparison to the professional exhibitions which take place at TheGallery, how did you think the execution of MAP went? I thought you did a really good job, you got the summer slot, which is a student slot so we see it as a platform for students to experiment and try things out, it’s driven by the university. We didn’t hound you or put as much pressure on you as we would if you were a formal exhibition in the programme, but I thought the execution, because I did a lot of liaising with Channa, and did the handouts and some editing things for the website. So I had the liaison with him, he was treated as an external, like you guys. I know you guys were involved, yourself and your colleagues had a presence but you didn’t step forward and ask me questions which would have been good. I think that was to stop the lines of contact and misinformation, but completely agree that we should have drawn on your knowledge more. It was really nice to hear you opinions as we were putting up, do you think that the role of putting on exhibitions based on student work or, more specifically architectural work, is important to the university? Oh, definitely, that is a slot we are always going to have, at the end of the day it’s a shame we don’t have the running time, because you get less exposure when the students aren’t here, but I think it’s still very important because we don’t close, we’re not an 8 month or 9 month university anymore and when you are in term time, like you are at the Lighthouse in Poole, I think you really need to get pushed, not you personally get pushed, but that the exhibition gets a lot of marketing and profiling really, because you’re another exhibition off site. But I think it is important for students to have shows but we have a constant running programme, we have had fine art in here quite a lot, but we have to be very careful as a gallery not to be seen as just fine art, or school of design, or visual arts. I definitely thing there needs to be a space, like the Enterprise Pavilion gallery space or something there for students to exhibit, with a programme in place. We try to fit it in when we can as we’ve said yes to lots of Honorary Fellows and other things like that, which is great for the university, as we’re bringing London, New York and those places to your guys and you guys produce some fantastic high quality shows but we couldn’t give you a show every single year because we have to exhibit that broad spectrum of work.
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We get accused of being too ‘fine art’, but we’re trying to change that by involving other courses into workshops and skills based activities. Simon [Beeson] has a fantastic opportunity of a nine week workshop programme but he was so busy it didn’t really roll out, and now there’s been nine weeks missed opportunity in that workshop space. In terms of the breadth of the exhibition... It was actually amazing. It was so well executed, it was really good. It was professionally done, you were a bit quiet for my liking, Channa did all of the talking which was absolutely fine, but you guys could have maybe stepped up a little if you want me to be frank. But I thought it was an excellent exhibition. That’s good to know, we’re trying to interview people and get some feedback that we can take forward and apply to the exhibition at the Lighthouse. High quality, it was very high quality, I loved the labelling but what I would say to you is make sure there is a book or context there... That’s what I’m working on at the moment. It can’t be too heavy, you’ve got a luxury in preparing these things, you guys are lucky because you’ve got a course behind you, whereas I’m on a treadmill with all of the exhibitions we do. But I thought you were really good, your finish was great. Thank you, apart from the communication, do you think there was anything else we could have improved on? Having a catalogue and a little more information with the pieces, some context on the website would be really good. When we read the words Channa sent, it was very theoretical so he needs to make it more accessible, or there could be a research element on the website with your research, thesis, ideas, methodology, break it down a bit, we all speak English, but we speak many languages within English. Do you think it would be better to give it a more approachable, public face.
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Yeah, and then also have your research and your project, but don’t lose that methodology and research, otherwise you’re dumbing down something for the sake of it. Any exhibition has many layers to it. In terms of labelling, do you think we could have taken it further? I liked the book tags, people don’t want to have to work that much for an exhibition, everyone is different and it’s about prior knowledge, some people come to exhibitions for entertainment, some to research and seek answers, so you have to be quite broad. I think what might be helpful for your event in Poole might be some school workshops or educational things. However, make sure you have someone who knows how to do an exhibition workshop, if you can’t don’t do it. Let the designers design, let the fine artists paint.
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Interview Tom Marsh Gallery Technician Arts University Bornemouth
How do you think that MAP worked as a group? I thought you were well organised you knew what you were doing and you put a lot of effort into the work you were doing. What did you think of the exhibition design? The way you had chosen the layout and I don’t know who picked to use all of the plinths but I thought that was really good. It was a really creative way of using something that us as gallery technicians just generally use because we dont know how to use them. I mean we stick models on them, we paint them white, we paint them black, stick more objects on them break them up and use them again, so what you had done is really good. What do you think of the gallery and our layout? As far as the layout was concerned because we are here in the university we have a limited audience if you have a gallery in london you are drawing people in from all over the country and can hold an eight week show. Every day you will get a different audience from all over the world but here in bournemouth we don’t really get that and it is not a gallery that you can visit easily. So therefore it is all about the community the 5000 students and the 600 staff that are the audience and being able to change that so these people are coming back not every day but once a week is really a good thing. Honestly I think that has a lot to do with the way we perceive exhibitions in that they are sort of semi precious things. This glass out there being currently displayed is worth a quarter of a million pounds. So as a technician I do not want to drop it. Therefore, it is something precious. So we don’t want to do anything with it. But something like your exhibitions were you made all of the frames etc out of recycled materials allowed all those objects to have a different feel and a different meaning. They were no longer encased in beautiful frames from god knows where, they were part of the work themselves. So in that sense you could make a lot more of the exhibition I really liked the layout, actually a lot more than the one currently on display. You spent a lot of time deciding where you wanted to display things and what you wanted to display. At the end of the day you are sticking things on a wall but it depends how you do it.
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What is your favourite form of exhibition design? As a technician we often organise how we like to hang things, whether it be by colour (blue ones over there and black ones over there) or by shape (round ones over there or square ones over there) you do it by history of where they are made, or materials. How you lay them out is really important. I dont really care if objects jar with one another, as long as the story of why they are doing that stacks up and makes sense then thats it. Do you think it is important that exhibitions have a narrative? When people visit an exhibition you want them to go away with a sense of what it is that’s happening rather than them just looking pretty.
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Interview Roger Gould Course Director - Graphic Design Arts University Bournemouth
What do you think of the AUB Gallery space? I think it’s very useful, I think it has a function and I think that it’s there to actually extend our understanding of what courses are about, what student work takes place, and what other events take place. My concern is that it’s very difficult to curate in that space because you have lots of differing lots of different entry points and exit points and it’s also on two levels, so it’s quite difficult to tie one exhibition with the other, but in terms of a resource, potentially it’s exceptional. Have you like or enjoyed any of the other exhibitions at TheGallery recently, and if so why? Oh yeah, I mean, I think the exhibitions I most like are student work and the reason is, I suppose because it gives us access and it allows us an opportunity to see how other courses work, which I think is important and if we wish to collaborate understanding at that level becomes very important. I can get more from an exhibition than I can from a course handbook and I think that is quite useful. From your background in Graphic Design, how do you think you experienced the exhibition differently in comparison to somebody trained in Architectural Design? That’s quite a complex question in a way because we [Graphics] don’t do exhibition design, but our understanding of an exhibition will be very different to yours. As much as you live in a world where you spend more time looking closely at 3D spatial relationships, it’s not to be said that we haven’t already, I suppose won a series of awards against all of the other Graphic Design courses in the UK at something called New Blood in London, Design and Art Direction and we’ve won Best Show, Best Standing Show, four times in the last seven years and that’s against 130 other degree courses in the country. So we’ve had some experience, but the nature of the work we produce is 2D, or screen-based or printbased so it becomes very difficult to curate an exhibition space and the important thing is the under-lying theme or the underlying message still needs to make a connection between all of the individual things that are in there, so you need to know your audience, you need to know really what you’re trying to say, I think that’s the critical thing because every
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exhibition has a theme and a reason for being there. Was there anything as you looked at the MAP at AUB show that stood out as being unclear or could have been explained better? I think my answer to that question is to do with the space because it’s got lots of different entrance points and exit points, it’s very difficult to give an overview of the exhibition when you walk into the space. In galleries like the Tate and the MOMA in New York, the space is designed in a way that that passage and that track of people is considered and managed so that all of those people will be walking past certain points at certain times when they enter the exhibition and there are key places where a lot of information can be given to people and it won’t be missed by many. However, because we have lots of different entry points in our gallery space its quite difficult to set that one single point up. I think that the overview and the contextualisation of the exhibition is quite important because I think it gives further information to the spectator. Now the way we look at it, I suppose is you have two very different views, if you’re an exhibition maker and you are 3D based trying to be clear and to clarify what you’re actually saying is the one thing that drives you to do what you want to do. I think that the exhibition that I saw in summer [MAP at AUB] I thought was absolutely exceptional, and the reason I thought it was exceptional was because it gave me something which I didn’t get from going around the studios and seeing the work that was there. It was actually a great collection of work in one space, that I could access very quickly, I thought that the work was excellent, I thought that the way it was exhibited was interesting. I suppose one of the things which would have been more useful to me would have been to have understood the context of the exhibition, that could have been publicised more and I think that the amount of information for each exhibit would have helped me understand a little more because, many of the things I saw, I thought ‘Oh, they’re really exceptional, I love them, I want them’, but I didn’t quite understand them, in fact I did actually ask tutors and students that were at the show to give further information. So, I think it’s about information and the ability to be able to communicate very clearly in a clarified way.
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MAP at Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts 23 November 2013 - 18 January 2014 Setting Up 18 - 21st November
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Photographs Arnaud Mortimer
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Private View Lighthouse 21 November 2013
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Interview Elspeth McBain Chief Executive Lighthouse
What is your position on the architecture of Lighthouse? I think it’s functional. I think that it’s on a grand scale and I think it was fit for purpose as multi-purpose, multi-faceted auditoria for live performance and for visual art. I think that it is a bit too brutal for me in its architectural delivery and I think that it needs to be, things need to be more visible within the building, it seems too enclosed, too square, too white and it feels like a very imposing building. So that’s kind of how I feel about it. How do you think that the gallery space at Lighthouse is important to the community? The gallery is the only non-commercial gallery in the whole region, and we’ve been struggling for some time to ensure that it survives through funding cuts because we’re not actually funded to have a gallery here, other than with the support we get from the local authority to run the building, but how we use the building is our responsibility, we aren’t dictated to. We feel that an arts centre ought to have a place for visual arts and our gallery, we like to use for all sorts of different types of things that are professional in their delivery but are not necessarily about fine art in 2D on walls. We like to have things that are quite different. I think that a gallery space within the town is an important thing and it’s an important place for local artists to also come and be inspired, it’s not just about them presenting their work, but it’s also a place that they can get inspiration from too. What is your ideal outcome in terms of the renovation of Lighthouse? To ensure that we get the things that weren’t done in the first scheme completed, and to use things that we know now about how the building works to improve it. We want it to become a much more visible place so that people can see in and people can see out, so it’s much more transparent, people can see what’s going on within it. I think one of the criticisms of it is that people don’t seem to know what’s going on within its walls, it feels like a big imposing space which isn’t particularly welcoming for people who are not feeling able to cross the threshold. So I want to within this project improve that, to improve the hard edges so to speak around the footprint of the site. I want to improve the comfort
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for artists within the building and how the building works for artists, and I want to try and find a way for connecting performances and activities which are not just happening within the stages, but also in the building itself as a whole platform for art, activity and the people who use it. In terms of the developments in this year’s MAP, so the drawings and the model, how will they help you to deliver this scheme? The model is the first time we’ve ever been able to see the whole scale and the connections of spaces to each other in the building. We all know where individual parts and rooms are, but seeing it all in one big context is for us, for myself as a visual learner really helpful to understand the connection of space and where each space links to the other. It will help, not only in visualising how things work together and how things can change to improve, but we will be able to use it as a visual demonstration of circulation, how audiences come in, to be able to use it for the acousticians to look at the issues around acoustic separation, it will be very good to be able to demonstrate exactly which spaces and problem areas need to be improved. But I can see particularly that it will be a fabulous visual aid and a tool to take to public consultation meetings to be able to show users and the public generally what we’re going to do and where the issues are for us and what the improvements are going to look like, just with that visual representation of a big model, and being able to lift it all up and see inside it. It’s like having a doll’s house to play with, it’s fantastic. Aaron’s drawings are the same, being able to see that slice through the building is something I’ve never seen before, especially beneath the concert hall floor, it really helps us link these spaces which seem so separate together. How do you feel that the work exhibited in MAP 2013 can be useful to both Lighthouse and the community as a whole? I think that the community see Lighthouse in isolation, partly because it is this large, white shoebox on the other side of the main highway, with no connection other than a quick dash across the road or under an insalubrious underpass to get to it. But also, I think the arts are seen by some to be something that you either know about or you don’t, you’re either in it or you’re out, there is a sense of it’s not necessarily
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for everybody and I also think that the public don’t necessarily connect with what the building does generally as a public resource and as a civic centre for large scale gathering, so being able to look at the context that is sits in within the MAP exhibition and to look at the ideas of how it connects within a sense of place that it’s in is a really good, useful tool for people to see the sense of what the cultural provision is and it’s physical space it inhabits within the context of the town that it’s sitting in. To see some of the fantastic ideas that are within the exhibition it allows you to dream a little bit about what a really exciting built landscape could be for a town like Poole or anywhere in the country and there are some models around the world where cultural buildings have been used to really reinvigorate and regenerate towns and cities. So I think that this exhibition gives a small flavour of what could be possible if we had the imagination and resource and the will to do it. It’s brilliant because it needs minds, creative minds like you all have, we know that’s out there but to see it physically represented in a beautiful exhibition like this, it’s inspiring and we all need inspiring and this is your time during your course where you’ve got that time to think and to dream and to plan and to have ideas and to put it down. When people like me who are rather more jaded and who are a bit more tired and have many priorities to juggle with, to have a moment to just see the possibility and actually go back to those dreams it’s a really moment.
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Channa Vithana Senior Lecturer, BA (Hons) Architecture Arts University Bournemouth
What is your involvement within MAP? As MAP curator it is important to be able to manage a team, so that the individuals are able to pursue an agenda that will benefit them individually through their particular strengths, but it should also be challenging, otherwise one cannot flourish intellectually or creatively, as either curator or assistant curator. In parallel to this, the individuals also have to work coherently as a team, and MAP assistant curators tend to choose to join MAP knowing it will be a team effort; that the balance of supporting each other and achieving personal development is the ideal. In MAP 2011, 2012 and now 2013 the curators have achieved this with wonderfully innovative results each year. MAP remains part individual research and part industry/external engagement, and it is at times streamlined but then at turns rather challenging also – this is the absolute nature of ALL live projects, be they buildings or exhibitions... Being the curator however is never less than fulfilling or deeply satisfying when working hard completes a successful exhibition or MAP event with the assistant curators as is the case with all MAP projects. This is MAP’s first retrospective looking back at the first two incarnations with a small preview of this year’s exhibition, how has the concept evolved in the past two years? In MAP 2011 a full-size music practice room was built, and then subsequently renamed the Acoustic Performance Space due to its multifaceted use for spoken word recitals, acoustic instruments, amplified music and even accommodating Lighthouse and AUB senior management staff meetings – these were all conducted in a new spacewithin-a-space where acoustics were good, and the expressiveness of the plywood conferred a warm, salubrious atmosphere that made it conducive to performance. The MAP teams also made the frames from scratch using waste and off-cut plywood. The learning needed for making the frames was achieved over the summer period of 2011 before installation of the Acoustic Performance Space and then the exhibition afterwards. The Acoustic Performance Space actually continued as a standalone installation on the first floor of the Lighthouse until March 2012, the first exhibition came down in January 2012. For MAP 2012 we created many new frames and improved a few of the original versions. However, the main innovations were a more
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traditional logo, which the assistant curators were keen to change from MAP 2011, and a specially designed new MAP Code that cut through MAP 2011 work, and sliced into the frames. The 2012 exhibition housed more frames into the gallery than MAP 2011, yet remained clearer which is a credit to the curatorship of that MAP team. The team also worked on a sophisticated new leaflet stand commissioned by Lighthouse called the Flyer, which was designed by the MAP Curator. How do you feel the ethos and use of materials makes MAP unique? MAP came together because of a lack of funding or external monies that normally lubricate the wheels of many exhibitions and research projects. So, the MAP team through good industry contacts and using ingenuity made much of the componentry for the exhibition, and this related well to a sustainable methodology for the exhibition – with minimal waste before, during and after its installation. It is also worthy in that it showcases the quality of non-final AUB Level 5 (second year) work and allows students who have completed Level 5 to start work on a professional exhibition before they commence the final Level 6 (third) graduating year. MAP brings people from the public, academia, industry and architectural practices together which is a positive way of engaging with architecture. As an opportunity, do you think MAP motivates the Level 5 students to do their best work? MAP is an opportunity for Level 5 students to pursue demanding yet rewarding engagement with a live project and also to learn from and work with professionals in industry. The students who become MAP assistant curators already have in their mind-set a curiosity and need to test and improve their creative practice, and this was already evident in the quality and depth of their work through continuous improvement during Level 5. Working on MAP therefore is stimulating and unequivocally motivates students to do better, as they are already likeminded to do so. In terms of working with the Lighthouse and Tekne, how important is fostering the relationship between students and industry?
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Lighthouse and Tekne are two excellent examples of the arts and industry that are local to Poole, yet internationally renowned with outstanding respective outputs. To have the balance of local and quality is paramount because it is better to be involved with ‘home-grown’ high quality people who are enthusiastic about what AUB Architecture students are doing. Additionally because they are already successful, this allows Lighthouse and Tekne to be more helpful to MAP and the students. In creating these relationships students also see the value that long-term dialogues has with high-quality industry: as mutual benefit of sharing ideas, resources and problem solving. Students in their work with MAP have benefitted from the enthusiasm and support of Lighthouse whilst the contact with Tekne has allowed them to provide offcuts of timber that would otherwise be scrapped or burnt to create heating (due to limited storage space). Tekne have also benefitted from learning about rapid prototyping from AUB in order to enhance their productivity. The mutual benefits that come from cultivating long-term relationships with high-quality local industry is therefore something that students will remember when they become professionals later in their careers. How important is the local community and urban context to the continuation of MAP? There is a perception that the local community do not engage with the arts or indeed architecture. However, during the Level 5 2012-2013 academic year the architecture students demonstrated that people in Poole town are indeed capable of engaging with important issues of space, and urban context as evidenced in a series of completed short films. Poole as a location, town and historical place is rich in architecture with close proximities of very important amenities like the hospital, the high street, train station, Lighthouse, Poole Park, the Old Town, and the quayside and marina. However it is also disjointed and even though these urban parts are so close by, Poole lacks a genuine centre or plaza where the public can meet and enjoy a central identifiable space. Some of the buildings in Poole are also too large for its current urban sprawl and the need to engage with urban context is therefore very important and will likely take decades to make better, hence there is much still to learn about the place and its possibilities of what it could become.
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Was there anything in particular that you decided to take forward from the previous MAP exhibitions? There are improved versions of the plywood frames, the use of laser-cut tags and the richness of the student output in architectural drawing, models and visualisations. The continued engagement with local professional industry remains a key factor to the success of MAP. Do you feel the new elements (i.e. the model, drawings and photographs) take this year’s exhibition in a slightly different direction? These new elements to MAP move the exhibition forward and new dialogues with Lighthouse are already being created as a result – the model, technical drawings (and measurement), and photographs are actually instruments and methods to which Lighthouse can have internal and external dialogues about what they are currently, and what they could become in the future. The ability to read drawings, photographs and models over a period of time (months, years) beyond the MAP exhibition will also allow the Lighthouse time to reflect about its future scenarios. Do you think that the palimpsest of the previous MAP exhibitions is something, which adds to the overall body of work? The palimpsest of seeing and touching what has previously been achieved with the current exhibition is very important, as there is a large amount of embodied work contained within the cuts and openings made to the exhibition componentry of frames and displays. It allows the work of subsequent MAP exhibitions to build on the hard work previously, so very little goes to waste – this links with the MAP ethos of being as sustainable as possible. It also allows MAP to do new things, rather than repeating unnecessarily the same construction or making as previously. To regenerate, reconfigure, repair and reassemble are all valuable factors of good architecture and these are typically seen in an architectural palimpsest: a ghost or trace of the past. MAP 2013 itself will eventually become part of the palimpsest that was set in motion with the first iteration of Music Architecture Poole in 2011.
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Curator Interviews
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Beverley Angove Modelmaking
What is your role within MAP 2013? To construct a model of Lighthouse which will be displayed in the MAP 2013 exhibition and given to the staff for their use once the viewing has closed. Why do you think the model of Lighthouse will be useful? It will provide a means for communicating the internal program and external mass of the existing building to Lighthouse to encourage and influence conversations regarding the staffs opinions relating to how they believe the building can be improved. Furthermore, it will provide an alternative solution for the staff to explain to their clients the spaces available for hire. In terms of the materials you have worked with are there any that you would have liked to have experimented with? The materials I worked with were chosen based on their ease of use and suitability for the role they were designated however, I would have been interested in using resin within the model as it is a material I have used in the past and would have liked to further experiment with its potential. Has making the model given you a clearer, more complete picture of Lighthouse as a building? Through surveying the building it allowed the opportunity of understanding the internal programme in depth, allowing for a deeper understanding of the buildings layout and how the public and private spaces are separated. How has the professional relationship with Lighthouse affected the way you work? Through progressive meetings with Lighthouse staff, I have gained a clearer understanding of the requirements of the model, the important role it will play in meetings with potential clients and discussions regarding ideas related to the refurbishment. Have there been any architectural practices whose models have inspired
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you? Why? Morphosis has been inspirational as models are used throughout their design process as a method for developing and improving the final outcome. They have also constructed a variety of models that were influential to me regarding the final appearance or approach that can be taken with the Lighthouse model. How has your work within MAP informed your position within architecture? Through regular discussions with the staff at Lighthouse, it has taught me necessary skills relating to the importance of communication and ability to adapt opinions and ideas to satisfy the changing requirements of the client. Once completed the model, it became apparent the ease of which the public could understand and interact with the object, an aspect that can be remembered and used in future projects. CAD/CAM or hand-crafted? and why? The model was predominately hand crafted due to the university machines limited availability. Another issue which influenced the decision to hand create the model was the expense and material wastage. The internal floors and structural walls were laser cut as this was not possible to achieve by hand.
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Pacha Brady Exhibition Curator
What is your involvement in MAP 2013? My main involvement with MAP 2013 is the curation of the exhibition in terms of its design. This encompasses everything from the tags to the frames and display elements to the lighting. Sophie and I work closely to ensure that the content of the exhibition and its design correlates. What have been your key influences over the course of the project? My personal influences have varied over the term. My initial influences had come from previous architectural studies that had been informed by Carlo Scarpa. However, this became adapted by the movement of venue to Lighthouse. Over time the inspiration became a conglomeration of Scarpa’s work and Lighthouse. Do you feel being a Curator of MAP has enhanced your position within architecture? Yes I do feel it has. Being a curator has shown me how important exhibitions are to architecture. It has also reaffirmed the importance of exhibitions giving an narrative to architecture, thus making it more understandable to people outside of the architectural profession. I’ve also learnt a lot about crafting and design language in terms of creating an exhibition space and display units which have a continuity. My overall knowledge and understanding of architecture has entirely increased from looking at the breadth of architectural work included within the exhibition and have the opportunity of being in MAP to thank for that. How does the ethos and use of materials makes MAP unique? Without the ethos and use of materials in MAP, there would be little that defines it from any other architectural exhibition. It is almost everything to MAP. It takes materials which have had a life, or a story before they have been included in the exhibition, this shows in marks or imperfections in the materials. It also gives MAP a different dimension and always creates a good reputation for the exhibition. I also personally believe it is something to be proud of. Was there anything in particular that you decided to take forward from the previous MAP exhibitions?
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As one of the previous MAP curators was also influenced by Carlo Scarpa it made the transition between the years very easy. I chose to keep the majority of the frames as I liked the design and style of them. This as well as the previously mentioned ethos of re-use, adapt and recycle. All of our frames, display boxes and mounts were constructed out of recycled timber. Your outcome is very visual, is there anything you would have changed or any other materials you would have like to have worked with? If I was to do the exhibition again, I would have liked to change the materiality of the plinths so that they were more in keeping with the rest of the exhibit. This would extend to the frames, possibly including some walnut and ply mixed frames after having such strong positive feedback about the contrast between the ply and walnut on the wall mounts for the books. However other than that I was very pleased with the materials used and would happily use them again. Are there any recent exhibitions, or museum exhibits which have influenced your work? Living in London when not at university is something I don’t take for granted. I try and visit as many exhibitions as I possibly can. However I wouldn’t say that any current exhibitions have particularly influenced me in London. In regards to inspiration, my visit to Venice last year was inestimable. I was able to see the work of Carlo Scarpa’s work first hand, both the Negozio Olivetti and Fondazione Querini Stampalia became a major influence in terms of materiality and texture. Do you think that the palimpsest of the previous MAP exhibitions is something which adds to the overall body of work? I would say that it does, however, maybe in some cases more than others, the main things which we have taken further have been the more successful pieces and left the unsuccessful behind. However I believe it is a good thing to see the legacy of the other students carry on throughout the years. I can only hope the next MAP will choose to do the same for MAP 2013.
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Sophie Clarke Content Curator
What is your role within MAP 2013? My role is to curate the content of the exhibition, so sifting through the second year work of the current third year to find the pieces which would be exhibited. I then began working on the catalogues, which showed a snapshot of the exhibition. What was the biggest challenge about curating the content of MAP 2013? The issue that I had came from the fact that as a class we are fairly close, there were some students who I knew hated the work that I had selected for them. However, I felt that although there had to be a respect for the students wishes, I also had to choose the work which I thought summarised the unique elements of their project. How did you decide what pieces to select for the exhibition and catalogue? I relied on instinct mainly, selecting at first what I felt to be the best or most unique work for each person. I then came back to these choices to assemble a collection of work which I felt had a diversity of concept and a variety of representation in terms of drawing, models, photography and montaging. For each student I tried to select the piece which communicated the unique nature of their project. How has being a curator of MAP affected your position within architectural practice? The role of content curator forced me to examine the students work thoroughly, learning about their designs and how best to represent over 400 hours of hard work in one image. Examining their work analytically allowed me to understand the diverse methods of representation which I was not familiar with. I’ve learnt so much about understanding architectural design from drawings and models. Are there any recent exhibitions or museum exhibits that inspired your work? The main inspiration for my work into the curation of architectural collections is Sir John Soane’s Museum, his collections of classical
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artefacts, and architectural fragments, sits as a gateway to design in another time. His almost obsessive collecting allows us a resource for classical architectural design in modern times. In terms of current practices, the recent exhibitions of both Rogers and Heatherwick Studio’s work was inspiring because of their selection of what to include and what each exhibit allowed you to understand about the person behind the designs. What were the key things that you focused on while making the catalogues? The main things I focussed on was creating a snapshot of the exhibition which allowed more information about the work than on the tags. However, I wanted it to have a continuity with the clear lines of the exhibition, to do this I consulted with Phil Jones from Graphic Design to instil a clear, easily understandable format. How useful did you find the relationships built with industry and professionals? They really helped in terms of seeing my work from an outsider’s perspective, and giving advice based on their vast experience. My two main contacts were Violet McClean, the Senior Gallery Officer at the Arts University Bournemouth and Phil Jones, one of the Graphic Design tutor, who has experience of designing books, catalogues and leaflets. Their expertise and advice allowed me to improve both my work and the exhibition overall. The relationship with printers allowed me to ensure I was getting the best quality from their services. What have you learnt that you can take forward in your architectural work? I have learnt the importance of good communication, both professionally and visually. Organising MAP has allowed me to become a lot more confident and comfortable in asserting my opinions. It was also taught me about presenting work in a clear understandable way using graphic design. This allows me to communicate my ideas more easily and curate the work into something more understandable. The other thing which is valuable is learning how to create a body of work that is graphically consistent. This learning, about graphics, about architecture, and about professional relationships will all continue to influence me personally and professionally. 63
Arnaud Mortimer MAP - Photography
What is your role within MAP 2013? My role is to use photography to uncover and expose a backstage view of the Lighthouse to understand the soul of the building. The photos produced will be exposed at the MAP 2013 Exhibition and be presented to the Lighthouse for their archives. Alongside I have helped set up the exhibitions with the rest of the team. Why do you think the photographic study of Lighthouse will be useful? The photography is just another way of comprehending the character of the Lighthouse to capture photographs that are not in the public eye. This study will help the Lighthouse promote their services and informing local people to what an important and unique the building is to Poole. Have the photographs you’ve taken give you a clearer, more complete picture of Lighthouse as a building? Yes of course. When I first visited the Lighthouse I was amazed by the size of the building and only really acknowledged it as a venue to see theatre, concerts, films and performances. However, since given access to all the backstage and small spaces within the large arts centre, I believe there is a real sense of character within the walls. The Lighthouse is a building that is fundamental to providing Poole with a focal point. The images you’ve taken are striking, were there any surprises? Images that you thought were unsuccessful when taking them, which turned out well? When I walked through the endless corridors and around the numerous rooms it was clear that there were many spaces photography to promote the architecture and the building was just as important as the building itself, architectural photography is a way in which I can expose buildings and understand their architecture further. This helps to inform my own understanding how architecture can be perceived and experienced by everyone.
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Finally, digital or film? and why? I have used both processes when photographing the Lighthouse. Photographing with film presents a very honest view of a building and makes you think about every little detail in every photograph. Digital photography is now so advanced as it is much quicker to get to the final photograph. I believe that digital photography allowed my to experiment more due to the rapidity, however the when using film, there is no doubt that the satisfaction and excitement of seeing how the photograph end up looking like is very thrilling. Overall, I would like to further experiment with digital cameras and a range of lenses with the way professional architectural photographers work to see how I can continue to build my own unique understanding in architecture.
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Aaron Parratt MAP Surveying + Drawing
What is your role within MAP 2013? I am surveying the place where the final exhibition will be held, this being the Lighthouse in Poole. The entire building will be measured and a complete set of accurate drawings will be done. Furthermore I will be looking into how to make architectural drawings easier to read for the general public, helping people to have a easier understand of the buildings they use. The Lighthouse will benefit from visualisation of particular rooms, these visualisations with help the help with the promotion of their rentable spaces within the building. Why do you think the technical and perspective drawings of Lighthouse will be useful? It came to my attention that there isn’t actually any correct technical drawings which the Lighthouse own. The technical plans of the Lighthouse will be useful as they are in the process to receiving a capital bid to make improvements and changes with the sections of the lighthouse, these drawing will help the architects which they are working with to develop parts on the lighthouse knowing that these drawings are to the correct measurements. The perspective section allows an understanding of internal heights and gives a sense of depth whilst give an easier understanding of the lighthouse. Have the drawings you’ve done given you a clearer, more complete picture of Lighthouse as a building? Yes, I believe it has. When we first started to measure the Lighthouse, we experienced that is was a incredibly hard building to navigate. The drawings are more detailed, finer cad drawings, allowing you to read the drawings easier, also the previous drawings were at a scale of 1:50, layout out on dozens of A0 sheets of paper. Researching into how to read architectural drawings has allowed me to come to the conclusion that a building can be easier to easier to read depending on the architectural scale. I have therefore produced these drawings at 1:1 and scaled them down to 1:100 to fit on an A1 sheet of paper. As the drawing is on one piece of paper it allows the reader to navigate the building without any confusion.
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How has the professional relationship with Lighthouse affected the way you work? Working with the Lighthouse and talking to staff from different sectors within the building has allowed to realised the important of architectural drawing in general. The drawing which have been produce at not only for the renovation of the Lighthouse but can also be used for promoting spaces with the lighthouse to potentially client which want to used rentable rooms from their own use. How has your work within MAP informed your position within architecture? Architecture is not only drawing, it is to produce idea and make it possible for someone to visualise, this can be as simple as a sketch or even renders to help visualise a space. This has allowed me to understand that is incredibly important for architecture drawings to be easily readable before presenting to clients. This is incredibly important information to know within this stage of my degree and will help me within the future when I start my own architectural profession. Have there been any architectural practices whose drawings have inspired you? Why? There has been one particular architectural practice which has inspired me, this being Roger Stirk Harbour + Partners. Richard Rogers has a very particular way of drawing, his drawings are very detailed and fine, his technical drawings provide a good idea of what the structure is going to look like which is a very important aspect of my project as it comes back to the idea of how the client/user can easily read the drawing through technical drawings. Rogers drawings have allowed me to understand different ways of making my drawings easier to perceive/ read. CAD or hand-drawn? and why? Development of computers has had a major impact on the method used to design and create technical drawing making hand drawn technical drawings obsolete, hand drawing is still and widely used and very important method of producing an initial idea. Computer aided
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design (CAD) is allowing architecture to move faster, therefore enabling a design to be produce to be finalized quicker. CAD for me was the media to use, it allowed me to produce correct technical drawings of the Lighthouse, although the technical CAD drawings allowed me to produce fast technical plan, it gave me some difficulties when producing the perspective sections, however I persevered to used CAD software to give a prĂŠcised, technical appearance to the drawings.
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Reflection Sophie Clarke Curator
When looking back on all of the work done and things learnt over the duration of MAP 2013, it is clear that this was not just a project. It has been a journey that has affected how all five curators perceive architecture, and what it takes to organise a successful exhibition. In addition to this, it has allowed each curator to become more confident in their given specialism, and has given professional links which allow them to draw on expertise which they would not usually have access to. This journey gave a huge challenge which was to organise two exhibitions of student work in the space of five months, but these exhibitions had to be meaningful. I think as a group this objective has been achieved, the exhibitions display student work in relation to the site of the project, but they also form a collection which creates a narrative, it is this narrative which threads through the boxes and display elements, into the model, the drawings and the photographs. This collates all five outcomes into a story which can be told through the exhibition and through each students process. From the first day of the project to the last day, all five curators have built on previous knowledge, but have actively sought additional knowledge, whether this was through trial and error, professional advice or as a process of discovery. This knowledge has fundamentally changed the way each curator examines and participates in architectural practice. The outcomes of this project are different for every curator, a photograph, drawing, display system, model or the written word. It is through working as a team and communicating that all of these elements have come together to create two successful exhibitions at professional galleries with a narrative that spreads further. This camaraderie is as important as the professional links forged over the duration of the project, and will be something which can be revisited in future projects to recall the success of MAP 2013.
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People
Editor Sophie Clarke Arts University Bournemouth Stuart Bartholomew - Anthony Bednall - Simon Beeson Andrew Calvert - Ben Diamond - Suzie Evans - Ed Frith Rebecca Granger - Anthony Holness - Jim Hunter Jeremy Jacobs - Phil Jones - Michelle Lowe - Carly Marsh David McCarthy - Richard Patterson - Neil Pipe - Simon Pride Josie Powell - Will Powell - Julia Waite - Ed Ward The Gallery at Arts University Bournemouth Violet McClean, Senior Gallery Officer Tom Marsh - Gallery Technician Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts Elspeth McBain, Chief Executive Sara St George, Deputy Chief Executive Paula Hammond, Programming Manager Feria Urbanism Richard Eastham Arup Acoustic Engineering Rob Harris, Director - Nathan Hattersley Coda Music Trust Phil Hallett, CEO Ramboll Ben Rowe, Director (Structures) Marco Poliafico (Environmental) Haydn Springett (Structures) Images All images taken by Arnaud Mortimer.
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Students Exhibiting
Selected Bibliography
Helen Allsopp - Beverley Angove -Thora H Arnardottir Kate Battersby - Pacha Brady Sophie Clarke - Gemma Copp Britt Crayston Benjamin Dart - Lloyd Fowler - Ross Green Dhaval Hasmuclal - Samuel Hold - Janno J천ulu Kathleen Lucas - Sean Middleton - Arnaud Mortimer Fatima Osezay - Aaron Parratt Marta Piasente - Tim Sham Philip Simpson - Michael Spendier - Samuel Taylor Liv Thestrup Moeller - Lewis Toghill - Vlad Wilfred Tomescu Hannah Trunwitt - Daniel van der Poll Angove, B. (2013) MAP Curator.Email Interview. 23rd Nov. Bartholomew, S. (2013) Principal + Vice Chancellor, AUB. Email Interview. 27th Nov. Brady, P. (2013) MAP Curator. Email Interview. 22nd Nov. Clarke, S. (2013) MAP Curator. Email Interview. 24th Nov. Gould, R. (2013) Graphic Design Course Leader, AUB. Interview. 21st Nov. Marsh, T. (2013) Gallery Technician, AUB. 7th Nov. McBain, E. (2013) Lighthouse CEO. Interview. 25th Nov. McClean, V. (2013) Senior Gallery Officer, AUB. Interview. 6th Nov. Mortimer, A. (2013) MAP Curator. Email Interview. 22nd Nov. Parratt, A. (2013) MAP Curator. Email Interview. 22nd Nov. Vithana, C. (2013) MAP Curator. Email Interview. 22nd Nov.
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