GSA Showcase 2021

 

In this final project The Barralands Kilt borrows from and embeds Scottish culture and traditions to create a building where movement is both part of the form and purpose. The redesign uses the principles of movement to create an architectonic form, where the public are encouraged to reassess their relationship with their social identity through the medium of performance.
The Barras Market signifies people, movement and performance. This new civic realm had to incorporate those elements. Inclusivity is the guiding principle of the modern Scottish meritocracy. The Barralands Kilt delivers cultural diversity through an alchemy of spaces and social inclusion via performance. This building epitomises cultivation of artistic expression and experience. By entering this space patrons are categorised through their activities and all movement can become a socially inclusive performance. The creation of form then reflects an architectural performance. This visual experiment of performance displays that minimum and maximum movements are visible in the spent space of a performer, while their horizontal and vertical absent space draws the viewer into the action. Materials such as glass or perforated metal panels help exaggerate the fundamental rhythm of movement occurring within these visual structures and alter how performance is perceived: is ballet elegant or furious; is boxing weighted or delicate?

Under the roof kilt, our inclusive contemporary cultural Scottish expression expands and shifts. This civic cultural centre releases performance from the restrictions of social exclusivity. The fundamental rhythms of movement intrinsically fabricate a building central to an expression of modern Calton, while retaining the elemental performance space of The Barras Market.