Len Lye Center : New Plymouth, New Zealand
Lucy Keeling
Principles + Elements
This is the Len Lye Center, in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It represents the many principles and elements of design, throughout its structure. One can see the elements of LINE and SHAPE, through the vertical, rectangular structures that make up the building. These create FORMS in between the towers, which then create PATTERN in their REPITITION. Because the COLORS are so monochromatic, it allows for the LIGHT to reflect across the smooth TEXTURES surface of the glass and shine on the exterior. This shine adds significant EMPHASIS on the portions of the building receiving direct sunlight, as it creates CONTRAST with the parts that are not. By continuing this material along the entire facade, the towers become RHYTHMIC. RHYTHM in the structure, helps to highlight BALANCE, PROPORTION, UNITY, and HARMONY, principles extremely prevalent throughout the Center’s design.
Links
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Len_Lye_Centre_26_July_2015.jpg
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pakaraki
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Connections
This is an image of the bottom of the Len Lye Center and the structures next to it. These structures and the road beneath them and the center, help put the Len Lye Center in the context of a greater world. For example, one could connect the building styles of the tower and the other building next to it, to those of other New Zealand buildings. They give a slightly coastal atmosphere or feeling. In another sense, the structure itself represents a type of connection. The paneling is connected by an invisible connection, where the viewer knows the pieces are connected, but gapping makes this less visible. Also, the building connects to broader ideas/concepts representative of art, since it functions as an art museum. The reflective steel helps the building to become a blank canvas, which reflects the world around it. This mimics the pieces of art within its walls. Similarly, the building is quite tall, and emphasizes the sky on its panels and through its height, which points up. Coloring landscape and pointing towards the sky or “the heavens,” have been common artistic techniques for centuries. The building itself is like the canvases within.
Links
Materials
This is an image of the exterior of the Len Lye Center, pointed towards the sky. It helps to communicate the materials used in the creation of the structure. While the building itself has a lot of detailing in the grooves and heights of the exterior wall panels, the materials used are quite simple. It uses polished, stainless steel to reflect the world around it, giving it a mirror-like appearance. In doing this, the material of the center becomes less pronounced, and the actual shape and function becomes more apparent. By making the steel disappear within the surrounding landscape of the building, one then puts the structure in the context of the world around it/its reflection. As an art museum, it then becomes a direct representation of art and the works within it, which all represent the world around us. Similarly, the concrete center could then be representative of a concept, the strong, internal center or backbone of a piece of art.
Links
Light + Color
This is an image of the exterior of the Len Lye Center, but it’s focused on the reflection of surrounding buildings, within it. By placing these surrounding buildings at the focus, rather than the center itself, the image allows for a conversation about the affect of light and color on the exterior, steel panels. Keeping these panels clean and polished, is integral to keeping up the intensity of the buildings image. This is because so much of it is based upon the quality of light and the colors surrounding the building, rather than the buildings structure in itself. The panels take in bright light extremely well, helping it to emphasize the entirety of the paneled portions of the building. When the sun is high, the building becomes a work of art, showing off images of surrounding buildings. At this same level of light, colors from these buildings and the sky, paint the panels vividly. When the light darkens, the color and clarity of the images dull. However, no matter the lighting conditions, the images are often warped due to the grooves and panel connections within the structure.
Links
Experience
This is a portion of the interior in the Len Lye Center. It helps to convey the experience of being inside the space, as it features the concrete, wavy walls and floors, continuous throughout the building. These pillar-like walls not only help to keep the building standing as walls, but they also help to more intentionally light up the hallways. By having the grooves, this light becomes less intense and more intentional, than if the walls were flat. Similarly, keeping the materials of the space simple and more natural, allows for the things inside of the space to speak more clearly. As a museum that features a lot of artwork, this makes the experience of being in the space more focused on the work itself. By ensuring that the walls are high and the hallways are open, the space is also more functional for crowds, common at museums. Walking through a simple, wide-open space, makes the experience of going here much more pleasant and intentional, as it functions for both the art and the people using it.
Links
Theories
This is an image of an interior art exhibit at the Len Lye Center, which can be used to represent a few theories of design. This exhibit, and the many other exhibits, hallways, ramps, elevators, and other accessible features, can fall under Universal Design Theory. What this means, is that the spaces within the center are accessible to many types of users, and personalized to humans, as the exhibits are designed for human use/interaction. This space also represents the Principles and Elements of design. It has elements of color and light in the green, yellow, and pink display, with an emphasis on their contrast with the surrounding, dark environment. Similarly, this particular exhibit falls into Color Theory because of its heavy focus on color. This theory analyzes the ways color interact with each other. In this piece, the green/yellow and pink are complimentary palettes, which also emphasizes contrast. Because of the focus on art/concept and human perception of the space, this exhibit and many other exhibits in the center, also fall under Place Theory and the ideas expressed in Spatial Perception. Place Theory can be applied to how the space becomes a place because of the cultural/societal messaging built into the building from the integration of art. Spatial Perception analyzes how color, light, and other qualities of a space can reflect a certain mood for the user. This can be seen throughout the space in the emotion evoked from the different art exhibits, but also through the open, vast spaces in the rest of the center.
Links
- Govett-Brewster Art Gallery – Len Lye Centre on Vimeo
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Technology
This is an image of the exterior of the Len Lye Center, which can be used to analyze the technology used in its construction. To begin, the use of 3D construction software was used to model the interior and exterior of the the building. This helped to plan out the exact height, width, materials, and structural form elements of the property. It consists of twenty pre-cast concrete columns, which make up the entirety of the exterior walls. However, these just serve as the base for polished, stainless-steel panels that are meant to utilize the reflection in an effort to make the building more lively. The interior of the space utilizes more artificial light, opposed to the exteriors use of natural lighting. Using artificial lighting technology helps create more unique, personalized, and colorful exhibits, which can be moved and altered at the whim of the artist.
Links
- Govett-Brewster Art Gallery – Len Lye Centre on Vimeo
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Source
Finishes
This is an image of an interior hallway and exhibit explanation within the Len Lye Center. It can be used to highlight the internal finishings within the museum. The paint may be the most important finishing within the center, as its natural, white coloring helps to highlight the work and wording placed, on, or around it. Allowing the art to speak for itself is a concept also seen in the use of concrete for the flooring and opposite walls. The natural color limits distractions and the alcoves created by the waving help the user control how light functions. The space can be kept dim or bright in certain areas, manipulation necessary for a space which holds many different, unique exhibits. This same concrete finishing on the floors and walls also helps keep the space clean. The material can’t be stained in ways that something, like carpet, could be, so the space is more functional for large crowds that can track in a lot of dirty things. Keeping the exterior clean could be a more difficult job, as the steel must remain clean to have the desired effect that the reflection creates. However, keeping such a large surface area clean, could be quite difficult and expensive.
Links
- Govett-Brewster Art Gallery – Len Lye Centre on Vimeo
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Source
Furnishings
This is an image of multiple interior exhibits in the Len Lye Center, which can be used to describe the choice of furnishings throughout the center. Because it is functioning as an art museum, furnishings are limited, so that the art can take up the most space. However, as a gallery, its secondary function is to cater to the humans using the space to view art. In this particular space, the only piece of furniture is a simple bench, holding two people. The surface of the bench is smooth and looks to be uncomfortable because the furnishings in an art museum are typically used for short periods of time. One may sit on a bench or chair to observe art or to simply take a break from standing and walking throughout the large structure. For those wanting to use the furnishings for observing the art, they may want to continue the immersive experience in the furniture. In this particular room, the bench is blended into the exhibit through the use of a blue color that matches the art. This helps to keep the art at the center of the building, similar to the way the white walls allow for the art to speak clearly in contrast.
Links
- Govett-Brewster Art Gallery – Len Lye Centre on Vimeo
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Telling Stories
This is an image of an interior hallway of the Len Lye Center. It features a dark mural art piece and paragraphs of text, contrasting the white walls of the dimly-lit hallway. This hallway is a good representation of how a space can tell a story. Here, it is pretty obvious. The walls have written word that tell the story of the surrounding art, including the concept of the dark mural. They may tell the reader who the artist is, where they’re from, what the piece is called, and why it is called that/its concept. In a less direct sense, the space also tells the story of its users and function. The hallway, wall color, and height of the walls all tell the story of a traditional art museum, in that these are all features used in most museums. Similarly, the specific ways light are used to brighten only the walkways and art, indicate wayfinding/spaces used specifically by people for moving and viewing. Art is lit up so that people can see it, and walkways are lit in ways for people to see and find their way through the exhibits smoothly. These can tell the story of the building, as it is being used as an art museum.
Links
- Govett-Brewster Art Gallery – Len Lye Centre on Vimeo
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
