The Blue | Dungeness, UK | Unit 21 | 2021

The Blue is a film park that consists of multiple film galleries and filmmaker residencies that create a place of pilgrimage for Derek Jarman, a filmmaker who lived in Dungeness between 1986-1994. The project spatialises ‘Jarmanesque’ qualities architecturally in a filmic way that captures the relationship between time and landscape. Jarman developed a deep blue field of vision before his death, which started dominating his world with uncertainty. Using blue light as a waveform, the loop replicates one single square representing an instant within time. This generative time based architectural language is used as a sketching tool to create architecture.

The building engages with the landscape by disrupting the shingle. Unique galleries are created with different atmospheric conditions that offer different schedules for temporary and short noticed uses for exhibitions, artists and locals. Each gallery is designed to find the best moments of the year and day. The dynamic changes to light and weather are captured through a timelapse that constantly collects the moments. The film park ultimately offers a biographical filmic museum for Derek Jarman.

The building creates a spectrum from loose shingle to polished terrazzo embracing local materials while using the intense color schemes from Jarman’s 8mm films.

Spatialising The Blue – The Generative Process

The project spatialises blue blindness with a generative process from interactive coding. Using blue light as a waveform, the loop replicates one square representing an instant within time, exploring a new toolkit.