History & Theory – Page 2

Visit to Sir John Soane’s Museum

I visited the Sir John Soane Museum as part of our History and Theory class and I found the historic objects he collected created unique and dynamic interior spaces that made up his 3 combined homes where he used to work, live and display his collections for his clients, himself and the public to view. His home incorporates a lot of borrowed light and this seemed to govern how he designed his interiors and the whereabouts in placing his collections. Moreover, his collections possibly controlled how he created his unique interior spaces and window openings as well. The architect ‘established in London in the early nineteenth century, presents a panorama of architecture in the form of a capacious chamber of wonders’ (Moldoveanu, 2000). His collection consists of a plethora of sculptures, paintings, drawings and archaeological fragments from his travels throughout his career.

Green platforms to support Soane’s collections with a bulbous mirror on the wall

When I entered the first room it was covered in pottery and were supported by platforms decorated in green. This contrasted with Soane’s red coloured walls and accentuated the effect of decorativeness which highlighted his collection dictating the interior space. His objects define the décor and exuberance of the rooms, rather than the shapes and architectural details.

His objects became the main focus point of his rooms, and create a smaller and intimate space in his corridors. It brings a real sense of closer contact with his passions and fragments of history. Soane shapes his ceilings downwards to attract the line of sight from the ceiling to the walls where his objects are displayed. I like the use of bulbous mirrors, angled to bounce the light from his carefully installed windows and skylights onto the walls and standing sculptures.

The variety of objects all appeared to have dedicated and special rooms to display them, for example the painting room has walls that completely fold out on either side and unravel a story in the form series of paintings of a gambling man going through unfortunate events in his life.

Domed arched room with archeological fragments and statues

As I followed the decorative corridors it lead me to a 4 sided arched 2 storey open space with passageways on either side. In the background a tall statue is framed by one of the arches and directly below sits the sarcophagus of Pharaoh Seti I. The surrounding walls are plastered with clay pottery and old fragmented decorative stone facades such as the façade of St Stephen’s Chapel. The entirety of the objects are highlighted by a beautiful domed skylight. The objects displayed here and the framing of this space felt that this was the central part of his home, disregarding the precise the location of my whereabouts.

Every window and opening Soane had designed unleashed layers of history and collections that I could look through into another room or outside space that also held some of his objects. Every single space, nook and cranny played a significant role in his interiors specifically how you viewed his collections.

References

Moldoveanu, M. (2000) “A ‘chamber of wonders’ in London: Sir John Soane’s museum,” Museum International, 52(1), pp. 42–45. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0033.00244.

H&T Project 2: Design Precedents

These design precedents will inform, inspire and influence my project 2 work of my contemplation space.

My definition of contemplation

*Figure 1 – Terra grass armchair, 2000. Designed by Andrea Sanna and Piergiorgio Robino of Studio Nucleo*

Originally this design was released at Salone Satellite until 2005 however they determined that self-producing these chairs were no longer sustainable. They are back with an updated version that lets you grow your own armchair in your outside space. The process of growing and setting it up builds up this sensitive connection and connects the belongings in a home with the person. An intimacy is formed with the object and its creator, which in turn encourages more use of the object. The natural seat allows for comfort that becomes part of the landscape and a place to rest. It. A contemplation spot is developed as the combination of the comforting curves of being seated in a reclined position and the texture of soft grass invites the creator to sit on their creation, ponder and be one with the environment.

*Figure 2 – Albert House in Sydney, 2017. Designed by Michael Bates*

Each stepping stone allows a second to contemplate, and take steps further into each thought. The suspended illusion and depth created by the use of levels and contrast of green hues and harsh concrete with plants growing underneath, concealing how the slabs are supported, creates a feeling of floating. This light feeling can evoke a powerful environment to contemplate as one can engage with themselves away from the heavy thoughts and interruptions of their surroundings.

*Figure 3 – Matabe in Naoshima, Kagawa, 2015. Designed by Hiroshi Sambuichi*

The Matabe is a private residence next to the Naoshima Hall and is part of The Naoshima Plan. They were created with the natural environment of the island in mind. Here, the use of moss aids the transition from interior to exterior, with the use of double walls to control the level of nature inside the space as well as open it up to the outside. This space acts as a purgatory between the two sides and lets the user slow down when travelling to either side and perhaps contemplate. The embedded pebble stones act as a guide and manipulate the journey of the person, possibly delaying them in changing their long strides into smaller steps, simplifying their path.

*Figure 4 – Villa Tan Dinh in Vietnam, 2020. Designed by MIA Design Studio.*

The aim for the house was to ‘create a miniature park-like space in the middle of the city’ (Dezeen, 2021) where ‘all the primary activities of the house will be connected throughout empty zone between plants, water as well as natural light.’ (MIA Design Studio) The woody vines gradually will spread across the steel netting system and create a filtered greenery for the house instead of a cold concrete one. They create a zone to contemplate and block out noise and interruption from the outside world. As the steps descend and lead to a below floor level pit, this allows the user to feel fully immersed in nature. The contrasting materials of stone and concrete highlight and permit you to focus on the colour of vibrant green.

Precedent studies relevant to my project

*Figure 5 – Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Museum in Higashiosaka, Japan, 2001. Designed by Tadao Ando*

Designed and built-in memory of Shiba Ryotaro, a writer on postwar Japan, the museum holds this giant window of glass. Ando’s work encompasses large concrete walls, combining wood and large windows whilst including natural elements such as sun, rain, and wind. The window overlooks and frames the garden where the author would walk and reflect. It is composed of various shaped and sized panels that filters the light through to fall into the space in many patterns. This was to symbolise humanity in all its forms and guises which Shiba expressed in his works. This is contrasting with the various sizes of panels frames that isolates different parts of the garden, giving focus to individual elements of nature outside. Overall, there is a theme of complex human behaviour with the playing of light patterns and the focus of nature.

*Figure 6 – Greenbox in Cerido, Raethian Alps, Italy, 2011. Designed by Act_romegialli*

The ‘Greenbox’ resides in Italy and was a project to renovate a disused garage into a weekend house. The metal structure becomes a ‘tridimensional support for the climbing vegetation’ (Divisare, 2011) and uses a ‘palette of man-made raw materials blends in with the natural ((Designboom, 2011). The house has an essence of growing the outside in the inside, and there is no definite boundary of the two. The green growth appears to be a part of the structure and fully take form of it, transforming the environment into its own entirety.

References

Dezeen (2021) Villa Tan Dinh: Longlists: Dezeen awards 2021, Dezeen. Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/awards/2021/longlists/villa-tan-dinh/ (Accessed: October 26, 2022).

Divisare (2011) Act_romegialli, Marcello Mariana · greenbox, Divisare. Available at: https://divisare.com/projects/180820-act_romegialli-marcello-mariana-greenbox (Accessed: October 26, 2022).

Hudson, D. (2013) ACT_ROMEGIALLI: Green box renovation in Italy, designboom. Available at: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/act_romegialli-green-box-renovation-in-italy/ (Accessed: October 26, 2022).

H&T Project 1 Studies

*Yurikago House in Barcelona, designed by Mas-aqui*

This semi-basement apartment has been renovated with the use of half levels, utilising the height of the house. It has created more space on the upper storey and the levels are connected by small steps and internal stairs. It uses a mezzanine with a wooden slatted structure to let light to flood through. And the living room is raised with a tall arched window. I feel this will influence my project as I have tall arched windows surrounding my room which I could fully utilise by bringing the floor levels up to reach this window height as my client grows plants, this could be very beneficial for them.

*Newry House by Austin Maynard Architects*, *Melbourne*

Austin Maynard Architects works within the narrow space with the addition of a raised indoor bed beneath a skylight that sits above the dining area. A range of species are planted in the bed including a philodendron and ferns which creates a leafy border and a living backdrop to the built-in dining room. It has a greenhouse-like/conservatory effect, blurring the lines between the indoors and outdoors. This will help my project as I also explore this concept of building my client’s collection of plants within the way he lives and uses the space.

*Communal seating area in Glossier Seattle, 2019*

This seating area is designed to look like a terraced landscape or a set of hills, which is portrayed by stacking layers of thin cushions covered in green surfaces of leather and fabric. This could be an inspirational design for my project as I would like to incorporate my client’s work of growing plants into the space by stacking cube structures in this layout. The cubes will hold the plants so it will be very similar to the green layered design here.

Cornelia Parker Visit

When visiting the Cornelia Parker exhibition in Tate Britain I was faced with objects and mediums that evoked powerful messages about life and the live we live. I instantly realised that walking through her work would be a memorable experience as she forces you to contemplate on what you see.

“If you start with a found object, that object already has a history to draw on.”
Cornelia Parker, Tate Britain

Thirty pieces of silver by Cornelia Parker, 1988-1989

Cornelia mainly works with existing and ordinary objects and translates them by crushing, flattening, dissecting or transforming them into another form. I found she uses light as a tool to create shadows of her pieces on the walls of the exhibit rooms, each installation having a different reason for this. Her ‘Thirty pieces of silver’ installation holds various household items, mainly dinnerware. I found the shadows created are a reminiscent memory of what they used to be, acting as a reminder of their past functionality. The installation itself consists of items which hold a sentimental value yet they can lose this value by simply being flattened and are essentially just pieces of metal or of raw material. Her elevating her work revives the flattened objects, bringing them to life by adding dimension and power as if they are weightless or lifting themselves or being lifted. Parker chooses silver homogeneously covered objects which could be her way of placing value back into them. In conjunction this could lose their value and unique qualities by allowing them to look the same and obscuring their different forms.

Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View by Cornelia Parker, 1991

With ‘Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View’ she had the Royal Artillery detonate a shed and inside its contents. The shadows create a double explosion in a sense, exemplifying the destructiveness and motion of the detonation. This and her suspending the work creates a feeling that it is still moving inwards/outwards and that time has stopped. I am able to observe the process of destruction. I am also able to observe what objects the shed holds, with the shadows and pieces of wood concealing the objects making it difficult to see what they are, leaving it to my own imagination and interpretation. I found it eerie and it reminded me of a baby mobile, with the suspending objects.

“My work is consistently unstable, in flux: leant against a wall, hovering, or so fragile it might collapse. Perhaps that is what I feel, about my own relationship to the world.”
Cornelia Parker, Tate Britain

I found the use of shadows in ‘Perpetual Canon’ to mimic the idea of a silent marching band and I could become one of these mute players, as I place myself between the shadows and the objects. There was a sense of transparency as my own shadow was created and I could be positioned within the shadows of the instruments and have my silhouette even hold a trumpet. I loved the configuration of the objects in a circle. It felt as if it was an endless loop of music we could not hear that once took place in reality but now is no longer present like an echo.

Parker’s use of a single light source, generally centered in the middle of her works, felt to me as an energy source that drew my attention to the center and then work my way outwards. It drew everything to an origin, a cause, and made her work feel cohesive. She uses an unshaded lightbulb which added a starkness and vulnerability to her installations, and it allowed her pieces to create the shade and contrasting shadows which extend and project the explosion and her hidden messages into the walls that I walk past.

Overall, I found her work to be a poignant experience of storytelling in the everyday and her political views with the collaboration of common objects, people and methods that altogether get her ideas across. I loved how she has a reason for everything in her process and it all ties in with the theme of her pieces.