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Town Hall Civic Space, Kirkcudbright

Part 1 Project 2003
Samuel Casswell
Costantino di Sambuy
 Mackintosh School of Architecture | UK
A new Town Hall for Kircudbright, a small Scottish fishing village, raised a number of questions on how architecture can encapsulate the democratic aspirations of the new century, and engage the town in the day to day civic functions. The role and impact of this new public building in a historic coastal town were the main consideration.

I tried to develop the program to have a greater value and worth to the general public so people within the town had more of an ownership with the new development. With the design I looked to incorporate aspects that had shaped Kircudbright throughout its history, so that the building read as a biography as well as an intention. Each aspect of the building looks to relate and highlight the positive elements that characterise Kircudbight as well as stand as a worthy addition to this picturesque town.

Samuel Casswell
Costantino di Sambuy

Sam Casswell
Townhall and Civic Space
Kirkcudbright, Dumfries

The proposal mediates between the past and the present offering both a new public building for the small town of Kirkcudbright, and a way of interpreting the spirit and history of a special place.

Stretching between the town and the harbour the building offers a perforated wall allowing entry both to the interior and the civic and function spaces and to the redefined piazza beyond, the external ‘town hall’.

Each shift in form along its length, characterised by shifts in light, depth, colour and height, marks a sequence of interconnected formal and informal spaces, a linear form reminiscent of the vennels that characterise Kirkcudbright’s plan.

Tutor(s)
2003
Diorama/concept. The idea of the Town Hall acting as a biography.
Site Plan. The town hall is developed on the East of the site relating to street and creating a new town square.
Basement Plan. The ceremonial hall, a floor below the entrance, takes advantage of the fall in the site and opens up to the town square.
Street Level Plan. The entrance and main civic elements of the town hall respond to the street sitting on the corner of the site.
Upper Floor Plan. The main public elements are located on this floor as well as the link to the council chamber.
Long Section. Here shows relationship of the Town Hall to the harbour and the high street.
Long Section. The section shows the three main elements of the Town Hall: To the right the main entrance and public elements of the building, in the centre the ceremonial hall, on the left the council chamber.
Ceremonial Hall Section. This shows the halls relationship with the town square and the mound.
A diagram showing the route from the entrance to the council chamber and the aspects of the town highlighted along this journey.
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