BEXHILL FITOUT

I'm working on the two main stairs at Bexhill. Both sit inside bold glass cylinders that mark entrance positions, a typical Mendelsohn device. On the street side the glass is faceted, reserving the expense of larger, curved panes to tbe sea - facing version.

This faceted curtain wall is cantilevered out over the pavement. Where it meets the slim concrete canopy there is a shadow-gap detail in steel, emphasising the effect of lightness. A transparent prism hovering in space. I have used an in-place modeled sweep for this element in the Revit model.

 

It's not always easy to remember the location of photos taken a decade ago. There is a small landing at ground level. Three steps up, then three steps back down to a fire exit. I had this rift at first, then changed it. All part of the learning process.

It's neither possible, nor desirable to think everything out before modelling. This is my BIM pencil, an extension of my hand and brain. The thinking takes place beyond my body in the extended phenotype of laptop and software. I love this work.

Quite magical. "It's the process, cupid"

 

 De La Warr auditorium seating. I had to open up some old library files to find an arrayed seating family. Not perfect but it will do. I reduced the size of the nested seat family a bit, otherwise it works fine. Instance parameter for length of run. Number of seats is computed. No idea where I got this from.

 

I bought a book about the pavilion when I visited it in 2014. There are as-built floor plans from 1936. Between these and the photos I took it's easy enough to decide how I want to model the layout. The current layout leaves a section of flat flooring next to the stage for loose seats, dancing or whatever.

Next I moved on to the balcony. Interesting to note that the entrances come in at an intermediate level.

This session concludes with the internal layouts of the toilets and cloakrooms. All fairly straightforward but really helps to bring the building to life as a set of functional spaces.