THE NEW ART GALLERY, WALSALL

BY CARUSO ST JOHN
ARTICLE BY DANIELA BODEGAS MARTINEZ (ID:20160905)
ABBE2010 HUMANITIES II
INTRODUCTION
Caruso St. The John's New Art Gallery in Walsall (1995-2000) which replaced the old gallery
in the year 2000, was designed with the intention of revitalising under-used local areas. The
Gallery is home to the permanent Garman Ryan Collection of contemporary master
sculptures and paintings, which contains a large collection of Jacob Epstein's work, as well
as many notable works by European artists (Caruso St John Architects, 2000). In contrast to
well-known architects such as Le Corbusier and Foster, the practise focuses on deeply
exploring the physical, cultural, historic, and typological background in their work and thus
does not adopt a specific identity in their projects (Jenkinson, Scalbert, Moore and Fowle,
2002). This building was shortlisted for the prestigious Stirling Architecture Prize,
suggesting that the vast majority of people would appreciate the beauty of it (Architecture
and the Building | The New Art Gallery Walsall, n.d.). In this article I would like to take a
phenomenological approach by eradicating assumptions and stripping back to the
essence of the building in order to understand people's feelings and personal experiences.
To do so, I will make a distinction between my own personal experience of the building
and the opposing viewpoints of Walsall’s residents. Phenomenology can be described as
“the study of human experience and of the ways things present themselves to us in and
through such experience (Sokolowski 2000, 2).”(Gallagher S. (2012)). In other words, it
explores how the different spaces or even the building itself makes us feel or how it appears
to us.

Phenomenology is a philosophical discipline originating from the 20th century, created by

Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Paul Sartre et. al (Smith,
2008). One of the most renowned known theories was raised by Immanuel Kant as he
suggested that we don’t see things as they exist in the world, we only see objects as they
appear to us (Hale, Johnathan 2009). He questions the assumption of physical presence
and the existence of a world called ‘the phenomenal realm’ (Lect03, p7, Hale 2021). We each
have our own subjective viewpoint of the world due to our different experiences in life,
hence we will all perceive certain objects or places differently. In general, phenomenology
puts a greater emphasis on the senses themselves and how this defines what we feel, but
Maurice Merleau Ponty suggests that we are not born with a specific view of the world
(Toadvine, 2016). He says that the accumulation of experiences in our life make up who we
are and hence our difference in how something makes us feel(Toadvine, 2016).

EXTERIOR ANALYSIS
As previously described, Caruso St. John carefully chose the exterior cladding so that it
stood out while still fitting in with the natural setting. He used terracotta pale grey blocks
for the exterior, resembling the same clay-based materials and shape used in the area such
as brick. “The tiles wrap and disguise the complex interior like bird feathers” (New Art
Gallery Walsall | Caruso St John Architects, 2021), and they reduce in size as you go up. This
creates an optical illusion, as normally, we would assume that they appear smaller because
they are further away, however this is a clear example of why we need to question our
everyday assumptions more frequently. As previously mentioned, the architects have
carefully studied the area with the aim of making the building fit within its context. They
have tried doing this in the exterior by using a module such as a tile to imitate the similar
 surrounding brick housing, by varying the
colour and size of them. Similarly, I believe
that the chosen pale colour, which is similar
to that of other public buildings in the area,
plays with the residents' minds making
them feel more comfortable with it. The fact
that we are more accepting of the things
we are used to, suggests that we grow into
that comfort. Going back to Maurice
Merleau Ponty’s idea of not being born with
the specific view of the world that we have
now; rather, we develop different feelings
towards the world as a result of our life experiences (Toadvine, 2016).

Since phenomenology is the analysis of human

behaviour and perceptions of the world, I
thought it was critical to incorporate some local
perspectives in order to better appreciate the
building's impact on the general public.
Generally, I discovered that local people found
the exterior “an eyesore of a building”,
“unattractively plain” and “uninspiring”, with
barely any positive comments about it (Reviews
of The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, England -
Tripadvisor, n.d.). The explanations are mostly
that “it feels like an overly large building” and
“looks like one big lump of solid
concrete”(Reviews of The New Art Gallery
Walsall, Walsall, England - Tripadvisor, n.d.) 1. If we
take a step back to understanding why they
have a feeling of rejection and detachment from
a phenomenological point of view, we might say that it's due to the lack of evidence of
interaction with it, in addition to the absence of uniqueness. It all looks the same from the
outside, lacking any marks or scratches on the surfaces fail to provide a sign of human
occupation. Unconsciously, we feel more attached and comfortable with a space that
suggests that someone has been there previously, like a footprint or dent in the wall. Whilst
someone might think of these as imperfections, they actually make it a more tactile and
personal experience, creating a stronger engagement with your mind. The explanation for
this is that these imperfections capture our interest by making us think of how that came
to be that way (Lect07, Hale 2021). For example, If you were to walk into a perfectly polished
white room you would feel like a stranger there as there is nothing you find familiar and no
connections with the space. In contrast, if you were to walk into a room with footprints or
scratches on the wall, your mind would subconsciously think of answers and reasons, which
creates a stronger link between you and the environment. Furthermore, the building is
characterised as a "monstrosity of a building"(Reviews of The New Art Gallery Walsall,
Walsall, England - Tripadvisor, n.d.) implying that people are overwhelmed by it or even
afraid to approach it, forming a barrier between you and the structure.

1 As my article focuses on local perspectives I made the decision of using direct quotations from tripadvisor reviews talking about the building.
Tripadvisor is the only source where I was able to find local people’s honest opinions. I read all of them and chose the most suitable ones.
ENTRANCE HALL

When we approach the entrance, we are

met by a large glass façade held by a
prominent exposed concrete ribbed ceiling.
The interior is dominant in the use of
concrete covered by 75mm thick douglas fir
wooden cladding on walls. At first glance we
are met with a large overwhelming staircase
and not much guidance. The general public
have commented that “the entry foyer feels
a bit sparse and disorientated us” and Julie
Brown 2 agrees that “first-time visitors
sometimes feel intimidated when they
encounter the dominant staircase” (Brown,
2019). Personally, I didn’t feel this way. I went
with a big group of architecture students
and tutors which showed us the way
through the gallery, but I can appreciate
how it would have been more confusing if no
one was there to guide me. It is fascinating
how seeing other people interacting with
the space and going up the stairs will
automatically make you follow and imitate their interactions. This is something our brain
does that we can not help, we simply feel less scared and closer to the space if someone
joins you. This consistently happens in everyday life, such as when you are new to a place
but you see a queue, you automatically assume you should follow and join the queue. In
this context, If I were to visit the gallery alone with no staff I probably would not venture up
the stairs.
Fig. 7: Footprints in concrete floor

2 Julie Brown is Collections Curator at The New Art Gallery, Walsall and is responsible for the management and development of
Walsall’s public collections, including the Garman Ryan Collection.
Something particular about this staircase are the marks of footprints (Fig. 7) from the build
on the polished concrete staircase. It seems as though it was a mistake, however the
architects must have seen it and subsequently made the decision to keep it. This is another
example of uniqueness which connects us to the building and makes us wonder why that
was left there and not re-done by the architects. Depending on who the viewer is, it may
have a stronger or weaker mind connection. For example, an individual with prior
experience and knowledge in concrete and the polishing process will find it more
intriguing than an individual who knows nothing about it. Furthemore, as you continue
your journey up the stairs you come across a sensory experience with the railings. These are
stainless steel railing (Fig. 6) with a leather tube that covers it in most areas. This is a nice
way that architects have combined part of the city's leather industry in the design. Walsall
became internationally famous for its leather and still provides leather goods for the Queen
(A history of the leather industry in Walsall, n.d.). In terms of the tactile phenomenon, you
can clearly feel the change in temperatures and textures as you go from the warm more
textured leather to the cold, smooth steel as the steps come to a change of level. This also
is an example of how the changes in your environment might affect your movements, as
by suddenly feeling the change in temperature it is alerting us in case of distraction, as the
stairs come to an end. (Lect07, Hale, 2021).

GALLERY SPACES
Moving into the first gallery space (Fig. 8), home of the Garman Ryan Collection, we come
across a room with wooden cladding on every surface, wall, ceiling and floor. Even though
the same material is used in the entrance, there is an entirely different feel to this room. It
is described as “light and airy” (Reviews of The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, England -
Tripadvisor, n.d.) due to the vast amount of both artificial and natural light entering the
unusually large windows, and “airy” due to the large amount of empty space which
surrounds the sculptures and artworks. The public critiques that “the first aspect noticed
was the amount of empty space” and that “my guests would have had no idea how to
wander around the galleries” (Reviews of The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, England -
Tripadvisor, n.d.). What is it about empty space that makes people uncomfortable? If we
analyse it from other perspectives we can understand how a bigger space can be
interpreted as not designed for our human scale and therefore the space almost feels
‘alienated’ (Kirci and Soltani, 2019). This space doesn’t allow users to identify with it or
experience it as something familiar to them. On the other hand, we may argue that the
gallery doesn’t feel quite like a gallery, it is a more residential scale room like one from a
house (Architecture and the Building | The New Art Gallery Walsall, n.d.), which may confuse
individuals, as in their minds are in a gallery, but what they perceive from the space is
something different. In my personal experience, I enjoyed the vast space and abstract flow.
Caruso St John practice states that “the intention was to create ‘a big house’ to be explored
and discovered by visitors as they moved between floors” (Architecture and the Building |
The New Art Gallery Walsall, n.d.). Phenomenologically, we perceive architecture by a
triggering of the senses which connects us with the spaces, along with the experiences in
 life that define our
personality. We all have a
different view and feel of the
same space, hence the wide
range of opposing opinions.

As I continued exploring the gallery spaces I came across a domestic scale staircase (Fig 9)
that took me to a balcony (Fig 10) where I was able to experience the same space from a
different perspective. Here I was able to look down into the room and watch people use the
space and contemplate the artwork. This reminded me of the lecture by Jonathan Hale
(Lect03, Hale 2021) where he described a story about Rene Descartes looking out the
window and questioning the assumption of physical presence when he saw people
walking in the street. He was looking at what he thought were people wearing hats and
coats going about their day, but questioned whether that was real or perhaps it could be
robots, or an illusion, suggesting that everyday perception is full of ambiguity. I feel like this
space creates a sensation of not being in the space, but overlooking it from an exterior
perspective. The public's way of describing this is “in itself 'plays' with spaces in quite
interesting ways” (Reviews of The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, England - Tripadvisor,
n.d.) , this suggests that all spaces have a different ‘feel’ to them, even though they are all
incredibly similar in terms of materials used. The ‘play’ of perception, light and space,
creates unique rooms with a special ‘feel’ to it.

Another interesting phenomenon which resembles a similar feeling to a change in

perspective is the large windows (Fig 11) situated all around the different gallery spaces.
These “large framed windows” are mentioned multiple times, in particular “great views
from the windows”(Reviews of The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, England - Tripadvisor,
n.d.). Why do people have such positive connotations towards these windows? I think that
the large dimensions and thin frame invite you to look out and explore the city in a bit more
depth than you would if it was just a normal window, it almost blurs completely the
boundary between the inside and the outside and connects you with the town itself. Also,
these windows feel like they were part of the exhibition, deliberately wanting you to stop
and admire the view as if it were a painting. Lastly, some of these had a very deep frame
which invited you to sit there. This is a way the building is trying to create a stronger sensory
connection with the users, by giving the possibility of engaging with the space and
connecting with it.

Going to the balcony that overlooks the Garman Ryan Collection, the architects have taken
the scale down and led us onto the smaller gallery spaces, which connect with each other
whilst showing you different views of Walsall. These smaller gallery spaces almost feel like
the different rooms in a house, making it more personal and inviting. In my visit I took the
lift on this floor to go onto the third floor gallery space. The glass lift in itself is a
phenomenon that allows you to completely detach from the building, as if you were
floating over Walsall. This gesture allows wheelchair users to have an even better
experience than someone who might decide not to use the lift. Here I would like to reflect
on how people with different sensory capabilities may perceive spaces differently and how
they use their world around them to connect things better. For example, a blind person
might appreciate the change of leather to steel in the handrails more as their touch sense
is not being distracted by their sight (Lect07 Hale,2021). A wheelchair user for example,
would not be able to have that connection, but the blind person won’t experience the lift
in the same way. This is an exaggerated example of how people might perceive or connect
with spaces differently, but we can appreciate how it may vary from person to person if we
also take into account all of our senses.

Finally, when coming up to the fourth floor, light floods the space through glass walls
reflecting on the polished concrete floors and held by an exposed concrete roof (Fig 12). On
the right there's a terrace that has panoramic views of the city, and to the right a big
entrance onto the last gallery space. This top floor was originally meant to be a restaurant
hence the intriguing double height space and the even larger window views (Fig 13).
Personally I think this space doesn’t work very well as a gallery as the large windows steal
the spotlight with the amazing views from Walsall. Due to the deep frame design, they are
ergonomically designed for people to sit on them and admire the views, hence it creates
even more diversion from the actual artwork. The building suggests that we use it in a
particular way, it invites us to interact with it, there is a blurred line between the real
building and our perception of it as we come in contact with it. Because of the space's
height, the attention is drawn up to another window (Fig 14) which you are unable to look
out from but lets in light from a different angle, further reinforcing the space's uniqueness.
Besides this, as we look at the tectonic aspect of phenomenology, we can appreciate how
concrete and timber are used in a recurring pattern (Fig 14). This gives us a clue into
thinking how concrete is cast and why it's been done in this particular way. (Lect07, Hale
2021)

CONCLUSION
Hopefully by the end of this article you are able to understand that we can’t analyse the
New Art Gallery phenomenologically based on one user, it's the combination of these that
allow us to understand and interpret the spaces in a unique way. “Phenomenology
demonstrated in architecture is the manipulation of space, material, and light and shadow
to create a memorable encounter through an impact on the human senses.” (Theory of
Phenomenology: Analyzing Substance, Application, and Influence, n.d.) ‘Impact’ and
connection is what buildings want to achieve, and from my point of view, The New Art
Gallery exceeds in this aspect. Caruso St John have played with space, light and touch to
create this magical user experience.
Not everyone enjoyed this building, particularly locals. I think there is more to it than the
phenomenological aspect, for example if we would’ve studied it from a political point of
view we would’ve found that the public weren’t keen on the amount of money which was
spent on it and therefore underwhelmed with the high expectations. Nevertheless, by
exploring it phenomenologically we were able to appreciate the essence of the ‘feeling’ of
the building, which in my opinion is what architecture is all about. It is essentially “the
formation of abstract and intangible experiences between human and space, creating the
richness of meaning in the architectural space.”(Kirci and Soltani, 2019).

TECHNICAL DRAWINGS

First floor plan

Second floor plan
Third Floor plan

Fourth Floor plan

Section AA
Section CC
Section FF
West Elevation
 East

Elevation
South Elevation
Image credits

Fig 1,2 https://thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk/about/architecture-and-the-building/

Fig 3,4,5 https://carusostjohn.com/projects/new-art-gallery-walsall/
Fig 6,7 : Humanities II Lecture, Case study
Fig 8 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/05/walsall-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place-
over-gallery-funding
Fig 9-14 : Pictures obtained personally (taken by me)
plans and sections: https://carusostjohn.com/projects/new-art-gallery-walsall/#more

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