Upon the Rocks of Gloucester

Gloucester is a fishing community on the shores of Massachusetts.  It has a rich tradition of sailing fishing and boat building.  Currently the downtown of Gloucester is undergoing a renaissance.  Buildings and storefronts are being renovated and redeveloped, and Main Street is being revitalized as the center of the community.  This proposal for a local arts center comes from two conditions.  The first is the city’s desire for Main Street to spread towards the harbor and reconnect with the water front.  The second is the need of a new venue for the thriving arts community which resides in Gloucester.  The center meets these needs by providing a performing arts space for the community, a gallery space for local and regional artists, event spaces for gatherings and celebrations, and a restaurant featuring a menu of locally produced ingredients and the highlights of the fishing community in Gloucester.

Concept for the walls of the Preforming Arts Center

The design of the Center celebrates wood construction.  The walls are constructed using vertical pillars and the floors are made with plywood sheets which flow up and down along the walls of the building.  The experience of walking through the building conveys a sense of current, like water flowing between rocks.  The intention is to create a strong contrast between the solid, stiff walls and the amorphous undulating floor.  By contrasting the structural walls with responding floor, the feeling of movement from between and among the walls is enhanced.  By giving the city a unique, dynamic design, the building enhances the area, attracts those from outside Gloucester, and marks itself as a place of celebration for the arts.

Section - conceptual sketch

Two parallel sections - one of within the theater and the other in the adjacent passage

Wood exterior

The building is also celebrating the philosophy of Phil Bolger, the boat designer.  His work and designs will be on permanent display in the gallery and throughout the building.  Phil believed that everyone should have the chance to enjoy and experience boating, and he devoted his work to reconnect people with the water.  In a similar way this center will reconnect the people of Gloucester with the waterfront.  The design reconnects with the waterfront, not only by having multiple and broad views of the harbor, a local seafood restaurant, and a theater space which allows the harbor itself to be a backdrop for performances, but by acting as a community anchor for Gloucester.  The construction of this center will facilitate further development near the waterfront, which will further encourage the tourism, industry, and growth of the downtown area.  In this way The Gloucester Center for Art and Performance will become the flagship of the new reborn Gloucester.  This center not only celebrates Phil Bolger, art, architecture, food, theater, music and the harbor itself, but it celebrates and enhances the people and community of Gloucester.