Friday night at the V&A was a like treasure hunt. They had asked 19 architects to submit plans for ‘small spaces’ that explore the idea of refuge and retreat – and seven were selected to make 1:1 scale models, which are now on display all over the museum. A map (and my terrible map reading skills) led us to the first installation; the delightfully wooden “woodshed” by Rural Studio (a programme of a school of architecture at Auburn University):
Our explorations then took us on to my idea of heaven…
…a multi-storey book shelf, with built-in stairs and seats for hiding away with a good book; or as it is more properly known; “Ark” by Rinatala Eggertsson Architects:
Having proclaimed this one our favourite, we were instantly proved wrong when we ventured outside to find the Ratatosk; a tactile, organic and enveloping structure by Helen & Hard Architects:
A bit more map reading; and we discovered a part of the V&A I have never been to before and Beetle’s House – the final favourite!
So what did I learn? That I really must take a V&A tour one of these days, that architecture doesn’t have to be about straight lines and tessellating boxes; it can create rooms within rooms – little sanctuaries within busy homes; it can be organic and sculptural and full of quirks and surprises… and that I’m definitely having a tree house in my garden as soon as I’ve got a garden!
It’s on until 30th August: http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/architecture/smallspaces/index.html
Further reading / watching for the especially geeky:
- terunobu fujimori: beetle’s house (designboom.com)
- http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/architecture/smallspaces/videos/Terunobu%20Fujimori/index.html (V&A)
- 1:1 with the V&A’s Small Spaces (guardian.co.uk)
- The Two Story, Climb Inside Bookshelf Tower (apartmenttherapy.com)
- helen and hard: ratatosk (designboom.com)
- http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/architecture/smallspaces/videos/Rural-Studio/index.html (V&A)
