From the architect. Imagine a place in Johannesburg where you can enjoy music, film, talks, natural history exhibits, and art.... From early on, it was evident to the architect, Pierre Swanepoel of studioMAS, that CIRCA was to be ‘the’ venue to go to, a place to enjoy the best contemporary art on offer in Johannesburg; it would therefore need to function as a cultural gathering place. Forming an art precinct in the north western corner of Rosebank, its design focuses on a comprehensive way of looking at art and in so doing, creates a flexible, multi-purpose building, that gives the visitor complete exposure to all types of art within the ambit of supporting amenities.
Circa, when viewed together with the existing Everard Read gallery is conceived as more than just a gallery and is therefore equally considerate about the public realm around it. It integrates itself with the city and offers more user variety, like a coffee shop and bookshop which are within the open ground floor and spill onto the sidewalk. It contains exhibition spaces for crafts and mixed media and large meeting places for public events or smaller private functions. The purpose is to create a building responsive to the art on show, offering something physical and real; something that alters perspectives of everyday life. The space between the galleries creates an opportunity to enjoy and exhibit large scale sculptures much like a sculpture garden or park or square, thereby making more of our shared public space; not just road surfaces for cars and hiding places for criminals.
An underlying purpose of the design is to encourage the gallery goer to rethink what is defined as “art” and an “art gallery”. No longer is it simply about a picture hung on a wall in a forgotten so called “white box” hall, in an out of sight building. The vision is for Circa to become a cherished city landmark in an impressive art precinct on the prominent intersection of Jellicoe and Jan Smuts. Located on the corner of this highly visible intersection, it marks a prominent public intervention within the existing urban fabric, offering 360° views. Art has evolved, and this gallery sets out to include these advances using various media, such as music, film, large scale sculpture and the architecture itself. The architecture is therefore a sculptural artwork, moulding itself around the art it contains.
Johannesburg beats to the pulse of many themes. To drive along its streets is to be continuously exposed to inventive craft. This tradition is born of natural media, under the care of a well trained hand. Artists engage with their patrons through informal side walk "galleries", where despite difficulty, sidewalks fight to sustain their function as public connectors. Moving forward on the vision to reclaim public space, the gallery establishes very open and fluid areas outside the building, which connect it prominently to the existing Everard Read Gallery. A ‘square’, big enough to house various large artworks, is created and provides an outdoor space to gather in.
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© Tristan McLaren
© Tristan McLaren
One can say that Circa is a small building, with a big attitude. It is not just another commercial building, nor is it by any means, just another gallery. It is inspired by the new world economy where commercial gain and philanthropy are tempered by a concern for urban and natural environments. While its main aim is to conduct business, it uses its prominence to create an interest in art. It does so by forming a community landmark and reference point that emphazises the importance of art, in an unexpected urban environment. Therefore, it is integrated with functions in its surroundings such as the existing Everard Read Gallery, while still functioning autonomously.
Consider the Pine trees growing on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town. Their bent trunks are not characteristic of their structure, but are reflective of the harsh, windy context in which they have adapted their form to survive. These Pine trees, appear very different from their relatives growing in Mpumalanga, principally, because they have had to adapt to a very different context. This metaphor illustrates the importance of context in denoting form to a building.
The Circa site can be described as harsh and challenging to design in. It is located on a noisy and busy intersection, next to a filling station and within an undefined urban environment. The site is narrow and difficult to accommodate a standard building. It therefore creates a unique opportunity for some ingenuity and adaptive design. The architectural form can be appreciated for adapting to a narrow site, while creating a sculptural landmark form. The fins and scrims create visual linkages into and out of the building into the surroundings, while the main gallery remains private and removed from the hustle and bustle. Circa would not look the same were it to be built somewhere else. Partly in response to rational lim