Panoptic Arts Center 2018
A philanthropic design intervention
The 44,000 sq ft imaginative redesign of Southwark Bridge was to address a problem in the community. According to Age UK, more than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 live alone, and more than a million older people say they go for over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbor or family member. This fact, combined with a finding of recent budget cuts in art programs from surrounding schools, fostered the idea for the creation of an arts center for all ages.
The class was tasked to use work by a British artist for the inspiration for the renovation of any bridge in London to be pedestrianized and include a non-profit building and organization of our individual creation. Barbra Hepworth’s sculpture, which currently resides outside of Tate, Britain became the inspiration for the project. Southwark Bridge was chosen because of its proximity to multiple K-12 schools that had experienced budget cuts in their arts programs and multiple homes for the elderly.
Bridge Plans
In this project, one of the biggest challenges was designing a building on a narrow bridge that still allowed for pedestrian traffic. As a solution, the programming for the center was split up between buildings, resulting in a passageway through the middle of the bridge.
The buildings rounded exterior is made of glass providing a full view of the surrounding city overlooking the Thames River and inspired the naming of the center.