Caruso and St John were selected to design Nottingham’s new Centre for Contemporary Art through an international competition in 2004.
The artistic ambition of the project, encompassing object based visual art and time based performance art, has its origins in the artist run spaces of down town New York in the late 1960s, and in the work of artists like Gordon Matta Clark and Trisha Brown, whose work was directly engaged with the spaces of the city. The site for the new building is in a part of central Nottingham called the Lace Market, whose history and built form has parallels with the cast iron district of New York, giving the Centre a loose cultural connection to its site. In our design, we set out to offer a wide range of interiors that will have the variety and specificity of the found spaces of a factory or warehouse, within a new building: rooms that will challenge the installation and production of contemporary art and offer new ways for performers and audiences to interact.
The exterior of the Centre takes its inspiration from the amazing 19th century buildings of Nottingham, and in particular, from the impressive façades of the Lace Market.
At over 3,000 square metres, Nottingham Contemporary is one of the largest contemporary art centres in the UK. It has four galleries - lit by 132 skylights – a performance and film Space, a Learning room, The Study, The Shop and Café.Bar.Contemporary. The building appears larger on the inside than outside, since much of its north end is sunk into the sandstone cliff that runs the length of the city centre. At the same time it is a remarkably open building: large windows offer direct views from the street into the galleries, shop, café and offices.
CREDITS
Architec.- Caruso St John Architects / Adam Caruso, Peter St John.
Collaborators.- Mouchel, Jackson Coles , Jackson Coles , Tim Lewers , David Bonnet Associates , Arup , Jackson Coles , Arup , Arup , Arup, Elliot Wood (external works) , John Angus, University of Derby, Textile Studios (Lace surface development), Matthew Brannon, Pablo Bronstein, Nathan Coley, Sarah De Bondt, Mark Gubb.
Project Manager: Segue Consultancy. Services & Civil Engineer: Ove Arup & Partners. Structural Engineer: Ove Arup & Partners, Elliottwood Partnership. Quantity Surveyor: Jackson Coles. Access Consultant: David Bonnet Associates. Acoustic Consultant: Tim Lewers. Artists: Matthew Brannon, Pablo Bronstein, Nathan Coley. Graphic Design: Sara De Bondt. Theatre Consultant: Charcoalblue. Archeology: Mills Whipp Projects. Surveyor: Tower Surveys.
Location.- Nottingham Contemporary, Weekday Cross. Nottingham NG1 2GB. Nottingham, UK.
Client.- Nottingham City Council.
Main Contractor: Sol Construction
Gross internal floor area 3,400m2
Total cost £12.3 million
Cost per m2 £3,620
Annual CO2 emissions 58kg/m²
Area: 3,500 sqm
Project Status.- Built.
Dates.- 2004–2009. Opening.- 2010.
Awards.-
- 2010 RIBA Award Winner.
- 2011 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award Selected Work.