The competition site is located in the heart of the ancient Roman town of Colchester, fifty miles northeast of London. The brief was to design a Visual Arts Centre that would house temporary galleries for a variety of media, a permanent gallery for a collection of contemporary Latin American art, and facilities for educational and community functions.
A series of art spaces are housed in a collection of solid volumes inside a glass box. All other social and cultural activities are found between these internal volumes and the skin of the building. The art is "protected" and the activity is visible. The building hovers over Roman ruins that exist on the site, with parts of the ruins revealed and presented within the public foyer spaces.
The main presentation spaces are located at the heart of the building on the first floor, and the Latin American Galleries are on the second. The galleries will have large windows to allow daylight into exhibition spaces for those events where daylight is desirable. The spaces are five meters tall and can be configured as a series of interconnecting rooms or as larger, more open spaces depending on the nature of the exhibits.
At the top of the building, a temporary exhibition space is located with views across Colchester. This space is envisioned as a glass box that confronts the artist with issues of openness and enclosure.
The form and placement of the building creates and encloses a new public square. Visitors are encouraged to enter from all sides, with the ground floor being permeable, visible, and animated. The public space extends from outside the building and is continued throughout.