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Interior Detail

Chu Guo

Education

MA Interior Design, Royal College of Art, 2021

BA Architecture(Hons), University of Liverpool, 2017

Experience

Architectural Assistant, Office Offcourse, Shanghai, China, 2017-2018

Art Director Assistant for STAFFONLY Show 21SS / 21AW, Shanghai, China, Oct 2020 / Apr 2021

Kortrijk creative week, Kortrijk, Belgium, Oct 2019

Exhibition: Architecture + Bluecoat, The Bluecoat, Liverpool, UK, Apr-Jun 2017

Chu Guo

Liverpool, Shanghai, and London… I have moved to a different city every two years, and it’s always a struggle to manage my belongings. As a result, the challenges of the temporary home have become a particular interest that has been nourished further by the situation created by the current pandemic. A fascination for transitional, liminal, overlapping and interconnected spaces has inspired me to develop the Thesis Design Project as a project that explores live / work spaces within the context of an existing building.

An architectural background has given me a strong interest in building typologies and how they can be merged together to create experimental spaces. The switch to Interior Design, and working within the Interior Detail Platform, has allowed me to develop further and establish clear design concepts and articulate the language and identity of space in detail.

Two Artists in Residence: Overview
Two Artists in Residence: Overview

This Thesis Design Project is concerned with the creation of accommodation and studio for two artists in residence as part of a notional University of the Arts program, bringing together practitioners from international partner institutions for an annual nine-month residency that culminates with a summer exhibition within the space.

The project is dedicated to two kinds of spaces; the private residential space for each artist, which is undisturbed by visitors, and the communal studio space. The studio is distributing on the ground and the top floor as two communal spaces, where both artists are able to work, teach and hold exhibition.

The open volume of the Victorian Waterpoint building suggested an approach where the section was key to the organization of spaces. Research into ‘houses in section’ informed this work and a series of interconnecting ‘L- shaped’ elements create overlapping volumes that are connected together by a central vertical element – the spiral staircase. Gaps between the elements and the existing structure allow light to enter the building whilst establishing connections between interior and exterior.

Key aspects of the scheme include; an aspiration to create simple functional artists spaces, a robust palette of simple materials (including plywood, white painted steel and corrugated metal), a series of ‘L-shaped’ elements used to define the spaces, and an approach to detailing that utilizes a set of components.


Site understanding
Site understanding — Located on a higher level and bounded by the railway line to the west and the canal to the east the Waterpoint sits on an isolated ‘island’ that is accessed by a single protected entrance. This, together with the site’s close proximity to Granary Square and the University of the Arts campus suggested a new art space use.
Agenda of the artists-in-residence program
Agenda of the artists-in-residence program
Spatial Concept
Spatial Concept
Materials
Materials
Component One: The ‘L-shaped’ Structure (overview)
Component One: The ‘L-shaped’ Structure (overview)
Component One: The ‘L-shaped’ Structure (detailed view)
Component One: The ‘L-shaped’ Structure (detailed view)
Component Two: The Spiral Staircase
Component Two: The Spiral Staircase
Component Three: The Roof
Component Three: The Roof
Component Four: The Extension
Component Four: The Extension
View of the extension
View of the extension — A transparent, glazed void space bridges old and new allowing the existing brick façade to become part of the new interior space.
The ground floor studio
The ground floor studio
First floor: private accomodations
First floor: private accomodations — Natural light falls down from above to create a tranquil private space with an indirect connection to the exterior.
Private accomodation
Private accomodation
The top floor studio
The top floor studio
View from the extension
View from the extension