Ode to (dis)order Riba Instalation
Shortlisted for the 2020 Architecture Open annual exhibition as part of the London Festival of Architecture, hosted by the RIBA at 66 Portland Place. The studio set up a collaboration between an Architect, a Craftsman and a Student to design an installation based on the theme of ‘Power’ in the context of architecture.
The proposal is based around three classic architectural elements: a colonnade with arched openings, a set of stairs and a chair. At the heart of our installation is the idea of subversion; introducing an agent which forces us to rethink the way we perceive ‘waste’ or ‘discarded’ materials.
On the one hand, the installation sought to undermine the power and authority of an obsolete order and to challenge how we as professionals view ‘waste’ in the construction industry. On the other, it sought to elevate ‘waste’ to the status of beauty and art by reframing disused objects and setting them in a new context.
The focal point of the installation is a statement of inverted authority, a colonnade of arches built with discarded materials salvaged from former exhibitions and stage sets.
The curiosity lies in how an audience would respond to an accepted symbol of power constructed from materials which have lost their perceived value. Can such a powerful symbol handle the contingency?
Credits:
Zoe Polya-Vitry
Michael Marriott
Tim Lucas
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Portrait of Marcel Duchamp, 1961
Inspiration: Michael Marriott, Chinese Chair, Fenton House, 2019
Inspiration: Sachs x IKEA x Judd, Particleboard Chair, 2009
Inspiration: Carlo Scarpa, Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo, 1953-54
Inspiration: Giorgio de Chirico, The Delights of the Poet, 1912