Project Info:
Brief: To create a flexible 'black box' space capable of being a video art gallery during the day and a fourth cinema screen during the evening.
Design: As straight forward as this may sound it became apparent early on that there were three key conflicts to making both settings work with each other. The first was to have a seat type that said 'comfortable cinema' to regular cinema goers that was light enough to carry and put away twice a day, stackable for space restrictions and the right size to maximise numbers.
The second was to resolve the conflicting requirements of a dark walled cinema and a light walled gallery. The third to create an entrance arrangement that felt 'open' during the day when the gallery is free and 'closed' during the evening when the cinema showing requires a ticket.
The first solution is a series of plinths on wheels that pull out for a seating rake and slide away as a gallery bench, together with a specially designed chair, The Tyneside Lounger by David Irwin, supplied by Deadgood to answer the seat question. To create a cinema curtains are pulled around the space to cover over the light gallery walls and a series of factors signal the mode of the space. With practice the change around happens with in 30 minutes at the beginning and end of the day and the contribution the space makes to programme flexibility is proving significant.