Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop offers a base for artists providing low cost studios, exhibition space and workshops.
The new sculpture centre sits perched on the south side of Hawthornvale and straddles the embankment of a disused railway cutting. This building consists of 30 artists studios, large workshops for wood, metal, plaster and mixed media gathered around a covered external yard.
The workshops are located at ground level and open out onto a courtyard, a covered external workspace wrapped in galvanized steel screens which provides glimpses out whilst obliquely screening the facilities. Robust, flexible and economical industrial construction methods were employed to allow the internal spaces to be adapted to suit the future needs of the building users.
The construction method and materials reflect the function of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop. The building celebrates a working establishment; a factory for the production and development of sculpture.
The primary structure is in-situ concrete; the bays of the concrete frame forming a cloister around the perimeter of the external space. This provides a basic infrastructure that can be used flexibly as temporary working spaces, areas for storage or exhibition, or to build more permanent internal studios at a later date.
Openings in the brick and concrete structure are treated simply, using galvanized steel grids and gates that offer a semi translucent view into the internal spaces.
For more information on galvanizing in architecture visit the Galvanizing for Architects page or book an Architects CPD.
Architect: Sutherland Hassey Harris
Image: Keith Hunter & Col.