Benjamin Q Chappell

Film Center - corner perspective - Wilmington is a major focus of the film industry in North Carolina; the program for this project was a public face for the Wilmington and North Carolina film industry, incorporating gallery spaces, a cinema, offices, a teaching stage, and other related spaces. One challenge of the site was dealing with the three-foot flood level of the site, while maintaining a connection to the street. This perspective was drawn on tracing paper and then colored and collaged digitally.

Film Center - Water Street perspective - The view from the narrower, pedestrian-scale Water Street. The main exterior materials were copper panels and concrete bricks. Another perspective drawn on trace and finished digitally. The exterior perspectives were traced from model photographs to save time.

Film Center - waterside elevation - This elevation shows the perforated copper panels allowing light into the upper portion of the gallery, and the relationship to the 19th century industrial building to the left. The diagram near the bottom illustrates this aspect. The 2D drawings were made in AutoCAD and Illustrator.

Film Center - 3D detail study of gallery element - A digital 3D detail model exploring the composition of the copper-clad gallery element. The model shows the green roof, exposed steel, and plywood interior cladding of the gallery. The model was built in Sketchup, and modified in Photoshop.

Film Center - plans - This presentation panel shows the plans and site plan of the project, including its proximity to the Cape Fear River and a lower nineteenth-century warehouse that sits directly waterfront. Shading in the plans highlights the three main elements of the building and their average lighting levels.

Film Center - east/west section - This section cuts through the gallery, the atrium, and the heavy element housing the cinema and teaching stage; shading indicates the elements and the average lighting of each. This section also helps illustrate the relationship of the building to the surrounding structures, and to the water. The green roof of the gallery element is placed so as to block the view of the roof of the building to the west (left), the foliage blending with the vegetation on the undeveloped far side of the river.

Film Center - gallery interior - The gallery is line with plywood panelling, with the copper exterior being pulled inside by slices in its envelope. Perforations in the upper section let in diffuse light, and two main windows allow views to the water and city fabric that is important to the success of the film industry in Wilmington. A section near the back on the upper level can be closed off entirely for lighting exhibits. This perspective was constructed on trace, then digitized.

Film Center - approach to cinema

Film Center - 1/16th model

Film Center - 1/32nd model in site

Film Center - 3/4" detail sections - These sections show the elements of the building; the steel is exposed in the lighter gallery and atrium elements, whereas the concrete-clad section hides the structure to lend it a solid and heavy feeling. The raised ground floor accommodates the 100-year flood level along the river.