Melbourne has a rich array of passages and laneways that cut through its large city blocks. They were designed for the pedestrian, and allow the core of the city to be explored by foot. They are tightly packed with cafes and boutiques and are distinctly european in their vibe. We used these alley ways as a context to site the project. This design is situated in the Block Arcade, which is one of Melbourne's narrowest paths with cafes on either side jostling for space. It was conceived as a replication of Milano's famous arcades. "incorniciare" (To frame) plays with the lanes lively layering of awnings and steel details that create selective views of the city and unique openings. I used forms derived from the actual shapes these openings created for the 3 levels of the gallery. the lower level is used as a "raised floor" of the lane incorporating cafe seating and compensating for any lost space underneath. The second level is a viewing point for the outside film screens that hang on the opposite facade. These screens take the shape of the existing windows, and through a certain ambiguity of what windows are real and what are films link the interiors of the upper floors back down to pedestrian level. The highest level is the interior gallery, where the form is an abstraction of a typical italian awning hanging above an entry way.
The layering of levels and crossing of stairs in this design further magnifies the built conditions, framing and lively nature of this lane. It raises the laneway rather than excluding it to make the gallery accessible to all pedestrians, and in doing this it intergrates the upper levels which are often disregarded and viewed as separate spaces.
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