34 DIGS.NET
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3.6.2020
P R O F I L E | W H E N C O LO R C A M E I N T O P L AY
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PHOTOGRAPHS
:
JOHAN
DEHLIN,
COURTESY
OF
6A
ARCHITECTS
The center of a new arts quarter by 6a
Architects in Milton Keynes is a shining
example of the boldest vision imaginable.
C
onceived as a utopian urban project in the
late 1960s, the English town of Milton Keynes
is ever-growing in its ideals, aesthetics, and
architecture, most recently with an example of all three,
MK Gallery, overhauled and expanded by London-
based 6a architects.
Working in collaboration with artists Gareth Jones,
Nils Norman and graphic designer Mark El-khatib, 6a
architects designed MK Gallery's gleaming, rectangular-
shaped expansion that is wrapped in a skin of corrugated
stainless steel and punctured with a gigantic circular
window facing the landscape. Simple in form, MK Gallery
is a product of complex architectural thinking meant to
reflect "the rigorous grid that underpins the city, once a
playground for British modernists and the early pioneers
of High-Tech," according to 6a Architects. In this, the
project is a thoughtful homage to, and update of, Milton
Keynesian principles.
The building's glossy façade shifts from opaqueness to
something truly illuminating inside: an axial arrangement
of equally contemporary galleries and public spaces,
including an auditorium and a bar and café. Interspersed
throughout the otherwise toned-down exhibition space
is a riot of red and yellow. Selected to evoke a 1970s
mood—and pulled from color charts of that era—the
rich primary colors are judiciously applied, creating
a canvas of contrasts equally suited for showcasing a
rotating program of international contemporary art, and
for experiencing it as well. Outside is likewise artful with
a playscape and garden. In assembly, aesthetics and
architecture, MK Gallery stands as a dynamic tribute to a
city based on dynamism itself. 6a.co.uk
MK GALLERY
PRIMARY TONES
RED AND YELLOW
OFFER A VIBRANT
CONTRAST TO
BRIGHT WHITE
EXHIBITION SPACE.
