Introduction
Rick Mather Architects were finalists for a new cinema and arts complex in Derby city centre.
The design for the QUAD was a landmark building of regional and national importance positioned in the heart of Derby. The building relates in terms of scale, height and massing to the existing Assembly Rooms and square buildings while at the same time preserving the open feel of the Market Place and the easy flow of people to the River Derwent. Key aspects include the integration with the surrounding landscape including "the Sunken Garden" and how the square and buildings relate to Corporation Street and the potential impacts on the Assembly Room car park.
The building is organized around an internal street which connects the Market Square to the Sunken Garden and park so that each organisation can have its own front door and the benefits of shared facilities. All share the internal street reception/box office. The Café is designed as part of the street and faces south onto the Sunken Garden which could be relandscaped as a performance space
Accessed from the first floor of the central street the Cinemas have a sculptural presence to Corporation Street with curving walls clad in woven metal which could incorporate special lighting effects The soft curves of the building continue the landscaped edge to Corporation Street and also form an edge visible from the river.
On the western side the ground floor plan of the Qarts Gallery is "peeled off" from the main form of the building to give top lighting to the galleries and to screen views of the goods yard from the Market Square. The building screens the Sunken Garden from the service yard and provides shelter to the café/terrace.
Derby Evening Telegraph
Laying Foundations for excellence in the city
Kate Gent - 16 Dec 04