Common Ground Workshop have been commissioned to undertake a full design and delivery service to provide a refurbishment to the existing rear warehouse at the property along Rectory Road, Clapham. The client is a local artist and the brief calls for the re-modeling of the ground floor to provide a large and flexible gallery and artist workshop space with an exterior ‘Zen’ sculpture garden.
The new gallery facility will serve as a workshop for the client and also provide open work-space for local artists, enlivening the local community in an area which has a rich history of artisanal and craft based manufacturing; It is envisioned that the space will be a local incubator and a centre for philanthropy and community development. The space will act as a chameleon, shape shifting from gallery to studio with the introduction of mobile walls and ‘cabinets of curiosities’ offering both storage for artists and valuable wall space to display the art.
At the heart of the project’s conservation philosophy is a focus on sustainability whereby materials salvaged from the demolition will be reintroduced to the new build elements. The proposal celebrates the rich history of the existing warehouse as a building set within a garden landscape, and provides a retrofit proposal that seeks to carefully carve out and reconnect the internal space with the abundant daylight and surrounding landscape context.