RA VARNISHING DAY EDITION 2020: A MOMENT IN TIME
SEPTEMBER 2020
For the first time in the Royal Academy’s 252-year history, Varnishing Day couldn’t happen this year due to Covid-19, and the Summer Exhibition was delayed. As a result, Niall and another 99 of his fellow Academicians created a piece of work on 1st June; the ‘RA Varnishing Day Edition 2020: a Moment in Time’, to support the RA and thank our Friends for their ongoing support.
Brought together in a beautifully designed portfolio by award-winning production house Hurtwood, this is a unique collection of never-seen-before work by some of the most illustrious artists from across the world. The portfolio represents the first time in history that the RA’s community of Royal Academicians have collaborated on one piece of work – a taking of the temperature of British art at a crucial time, documenting what our RAs were doing, thinking and making on 1 June.
All sales of the portfolio support the RA and help us ensure that we are here for you – and everyone – long into the future. You can purchase the Portfolio here https://shop.royalacademy.org.uk/varnishing-day-portfolio.
CAMBRIDGE ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS TOUR OF JESUS COLLEGE
MARCH 2017
On Wednesday 1st March the University of Cambridge Year 2 architecture students visited our West Court development at Jesus College. They were invited by Professor of Sustainable Design Koen Steemers, a Fellow and Director of Studies at Jesus College. I gave a general introduction to the project in the recently completed auditorium and was asked to cover some more specific acoustic design issues to tie in with Professor Steemers’s recent lectures on acoustics.
It was great to experience the ash-lined auditorium space occupied. With the secondary glazing installed earlier in the week, there was no disturbance from noisy Jesus Lane outside and even the buzz of the busy building site beyond the four walls of the auditorium was not noticeable.
I really enjoyed the Q&A session and was surprised at the insightful questioning and level of engagement that the Year 2 students demonstrated. There were specific questions about acoustic design – Were different room shapes considered? – and more general questions about the architecture – What informed the architectural language of the Auditorium? How was the 100-year lifespan of the building considered in the selection of materials?
Having finished in the auditorium, we crossed the courtyard to the new café pavilion and ended the tour in the basement bar below. Here the acoustics are very different with glazed tiling to the walls and brass surfaces. It was interesting to discuss how the acoustic plaster soffits, the sprung floor and the ceiling vaults might affect the sound. Again probing questions were raised about design and sustainability but I got the sense there was another question on everyone’s mind – Shouldn’t every college bar have its own microbrewery?