Each of the gallery blocks is different, but not too different, in terms of height, shape, size and, crucially, quality of light. Where many galleries insist on an even distribution of light, there is a play on light and shade that Chipperfield describes as ‘part of the humanity of the space’. The offset geometry and staggered doorways afford oblique views from gallery to gallery, or rather from artwork to artwork: the hope is that visitors will be drawn through the building by exhibits ‘beckoning’ from room to room.
These floor-to-ceiling windows, made flush with the concrete facade, render the external appearance almost excessively sparse. Thecombination of a cheerfully mismatched roofscape and a super-pared down form creates a cartoon-like abstraction of a fortress town, displaying evidence of Chipperfield’s astonishing gift for creating forms that are at once figurative and abstract, playful and austere.
Holding equal importance to these views through the building, are the generous views out to the city. It is, of course, impossible for a single building to stitch together an urban fabric that is hopelessly tattered and torn. But Chipperfield has done his damndest to bring the beauty that lies within the chaos more sharply into view. Weir and warehouses are isolated, celebrated and framed. The chapel - too small, too distant and too obscured by motorway traffic to be viewed in isolation - gets not only a window, but a window seat, as if to acknowledge that a true appreciation of its beauty requires an investment in concentration and time.
http://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/culture/the-hepworth-wakefield-by-david-chipperfield-architects-yorkshire-uk/8616599.article
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