The final result was much more interesting than I had expected. The staircases took a life of their own, shaping both the look and feel of how both above and below ground spaces were intended to look like:
Staircase no. 1 and 2, combined together into a single structure
Closeup of the textures used for the above-ground space. Both the "scratched" (on floor) and "woven" (on walls) textures had a strong stone-like textural quality
Corner of the below-ground staircase. The tube pokes out of the below-ground space to interact with the soil all around it, entering back into the rounded glass cube to continue its journey
Staircase no. 1 essentially forms its own space for Bourgeois to use for work and personal recreation. Staircase no. 2 goes along a route that starts in the middle of the above-ground structure and finishes somewhere outside of the entire gallery space. The entire journey will either start from the main entrance for the above-ground gallery or the endpoint of the tube-like staircase for the below-ground gallery located outdoors.
One of many sketches done by Bourgeois in her Insomnia Drawings collection from 1994-95
One of many concept artworks accompanying Stelarc's exploratory essay on the nature of the human body as a form of telecommunications from 2009
The two above images are what I plan to intersperse across the gallery as a form of artwork to be displayed. The pieces by Bourgeois will imitate her organic and abstract structures often seen in her early career, while Stelarc's work will be a representational variation on his many two-dimensional digitally-made concept art. Both rectangular prisms seen above are about ten meters long, with a height of at least 5 meters. The textures are sized so as to fit its format of choice.
My final gallery space will be based on the concept of overwhelming the human senses by exaggerating normally familiar scale and proportions to make it look foreign, or even alien-like, in an unsettling way as seen in the clip below, taken from the 1979 movie Alien:
Promotional picture for
Prometheus, the upcoming prequel to the movie Alien
The above picture sums up the overall impression I want to achieve with the gallery space most accurately. The above-ground structure consists of a massive egg-like dome that has minute cracks wide enough to let limited light and a few visitors in. Staircase no. 1 would be situated right in the middle and loom over a person entering the above-ground space, much like the monolithic head in the spaceship's central chamber. Staircase no. 2 allows a person to go below-ground to witness a jumble of pipes, tubes and tunnels that criss-cross the volume inside the rounded glass cube. The entire structure will be situated in a custom-made jungle that looks lush and wild, completing the overall look of an abandoned construct left behind by some enigmatic society.
I've decided to go ahead and further develop staircases no. 1 and 2:
Layout for staircase no. 1. The structure has two alternating staircases, one on the exterior, and the other in the interior (highlighted in white)
Two variations on staircase no. 1, one with a bulging midsection and the other with a straight cylindrical centre. A person standing on the mid-level landing (left) gives an idea of scale
I have decided that staircase no. 1 will be solely used for the above-ground gallery space. A friend recently pointed out to me that I can make use of the interior space to create an alternate staircase that complements the outside flight of stairs, going down to the ground level in a reverse direction. The midsection inside the central hollow will feature a landing wide enough for the artist to create and display artwork within.
Staircase no. 2 with perspective elevation cross-section
Interior space will have a finalised headroom of over 2,600 mm and a width of 5000 mm
The below-ground staircase is closely tied to the concept of spatial fluidity - the tube form sneaks around and teases apart the notion of an enclosed space as it crosses in and out of the below-ground "glass cube". The materiality is just as important as a clear tube allows for a greater sensitivity to the entire underground volume as opposed to a simple wall opening along the staircase's length.
Staircase no. 1 is my first and most favourite. It has a lot of potential to be a space of its own while retaining its function. This staircase is also designed to have ample space for the artist to work or display their artwork throughout the structure itself, enhancing a person's visual experience as they slowly climb along any direction.
Staircase no. 2 is greatly inspired by the staircase of the Centre Pompidou art gallery in Paris, France. The tubular structure itself should not be considered as a staircase, but rather one massive single tunnel that sneaks around the gallery space. The tunnel changes height at places, and be designed out of a transparent material to allow a person within to look out to the surroundings.
Staircase no. 3 is a clear tribute to the use of extensive pipe and tube infrastructure in the below-ground space (inspired by the chosen adjective - INDUSTRIAL) from my design's first draft. I call it a "waterfall" due to the slight but graceful curves wherever the pipe array bends into a stair tread or a stair riser. The stair is closely arranged to either the inner or outer wall of the below-ground space.
Staircase no. 4 can be used in either the above-ground or below-ground space due to its modular nature. The staircase is broken up into two main components, one of which is further broken down into individual piping units that join at random locations across the gallery space.
