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NEW ART EXCHANGE

This September the New Art Exchange took occupation of its new home, a landmark building by award-
winning architects HawkinsBrown. Located on the site of the New Art Exchange’s original building,
a former dispensary on Gregory Boulevard in Hyson Green in Nottingham, the New Art Exchange will
create employment and provide new facilities for the Hyson Green community, helping to regenerate
one of the East Midland's most deprived areas.

The building will launch the New Art Exchange as the UK's first regional inner city contemporary visual arts
centre led by African, African Caribbean and South Asian artistic practice. Situated within close proximity
to Djanogly City Academy, the local library and community centre it will significantly boost the social and
cultural dimension of the Hyson Green neighbourhood.

The new 4-storey building provides 1360 sqm floor space, which is divided into a visual arts gallery,
workshop spaces, studios, rehearsal spaces and facilities for an artist in-residence.

The building, which deploys a concrete frame to support a semi glazed external skin, is distinguished from
the ubiquitous red clay buildings of the neighbourhood by its black brick façade.

A playful arrangement of frameless windows ranging in size (from 0.16 sqm to 4.84 sqm), offers incidental
and unexpected views into and out of the building. HawkinsBrown has worked directly with visual artist
Hew Locke who has made a site specific ceiling installation in the ground floor café, comprising aluminium
plates embossed with imagery of the local area. The installation provides a counterpoint to the building’s
rigorous rectilinear form as well as celebrating and promoting the centre’s relationship with its immediate locality.

Construction
The intention was to create a building of solidity and gravitas, a strong footing for the largely ethnically
diverse communities who over the years have settled and made their home in Hyson Green. It was also
designed to be constructed inexpensively and by local trade labour with help from young people from
building training colleges.

The structure is of reinforced, in-situ concrete on a regular 6m grid with 300mm deep slabs, which
is strengthened by upstand beams to the perimeter and braced by concrete blockwork. The entire building,
including the gallery and rehearsal spaces, is naturally ventilated, the internal temperature being monitored
by a building management system. The exposed concrete soffits provide thermal mass, ensuring a stable
internal environment.

Cost restraints determined that the external walls could not exceed £300/sqm. The walls are made of
a typical cavity wall construction - although overscaled. 140mm blockwork, 150mm insulation within
a 200mm cavity and 100mm facing bricks provides high levels of thermal insulation and the desired
impression of mass and depth.

Punctuations in the wall, for windows and doors, are treated as an opportunity to express the thickness
of the wall. Windows are recessed by 1½ bricks with a brick soffit reveal formed of 25mm brick slips cast
onto bespoke designed precast concrete lintels. Other windows are set flush to enhance the appearance
of depth to the recesses and provide animation across the façade.

Project data:
> Location: 39-41 Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham, NG7 6BE
> Gross internal area: 1360 m2
> Gross external area: 1510 m2
> Construction value: £3.1 million
> Start on site date: February 2007