As an architectural photographer working with ArchiFACT, I have to photograph buildings either because they are broken or because they fail to live up to expectations. Therefore it was a pleasure to drive to Wakefield for the opening of a new building which not only seems to work but is also exciting and beautiful. I had visited previously for a preview with the local RIBA group, but that visit was on a winter’s evening, to an incomplete building.
The building in question is, of course, the new Hepworth Gallery. Named for abstract sculptor Barbara Hepworth, who grew up in Wakefield, the architecture is as abstract as she could have wished. We approached from the opposite bank of the River Calder where the strong angularity of the new footbridge framed the gallery’s silhouette, a series of surprising angles against the sky.
Aubergine or Battleship?
The Hepworth, formed with a series of trapezoid blocks in tinted concrete, is all about angles and geometry. There has been some debate about the tint, which has been described as anything from aubergine to battleship. Whatever its name, the chosen colour works. The blocks seem to rise effortlessly from the ever moving waters of the Calder and it is difficult to say if the water takes on the colour of the building or the building adopts the constantly changing hue of the water. The effect of this building forming the river edge at the weir is dramatic and highly photogenic.
With a gallery dedicated to a sculptor, the arrangement of the interior involves more than concerns with wall space. There are both two and three dimensional artworks by a number of artists in the building, but Barbara Hepworth’s sculpture is predominant and enhances the cleverly devised spaces in a way which makes it hard to imagine them without the sculpture. Angled walls and ceilings alter the perspective, creating optical illusions, the true scale of a sculpture is unclear unless compared to the size of a person standing beside it.
Art galleries have to treat delicate artworks with respect. Heat and light can cause irrevocable damage, so many galleries totally exclude daylight from exhibition spaces, an approach which treats the building’s locality as irrelevant. But not at the Hepworth, the trapezoidal galleries are punctuated at strategic locations with windows to bring the riverside into the building, while skylights, cleverly shielded by the angled ceilings inside the galleries, allow natural light to scatter into the space.
Room for Art
The opening of new UK art galleries might seem unexpected given the economic climate, though of course it began when we were all still affluent. The recent completion of several projects shows there is still room to celebrate art in recessionary times. The Hepworth started with an RIBA competition in 2003, which was won by Architect David Chipperfield. Construction commenced in 2007 and the building was handed over in January 2010. Another major art gallery which has opened since January was also designed by David Chipperfield; Turner Contemporary on the seafront at Margate has a profile akin to white yacht sails. I look forward to a trip to the Kent coast.
Back in Wakefield, I thought the interior and contents of the Hepworth were marvellous, but it was a sunny day and I was drawn outdoors to the riverside. Viewed from here, with the Calder weir flowing past, the angles of the Hepworth continue their performance of altering perspective and confusing the eye. This sculptural building is as much a work of art as anything inside.
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