Studio brief
This studio is a test bed for alternative visions for living, encouraging a radical rethink of the spaces of tomorrow. We encourage rigorous research expressed through one-to-one making and material experimentation. Taking a conceptual and research-led approach to design, we operate as a think tank and design laboratory.
The unit begins with a cross examination of the emerging social, cultural and technological conditions that shape our sense of place. From these investigations, we create novel solutions that suggest new scenarios and frameworks for design, redefining traditional notions of luxury, decoration and identity. We test our concepts at a variety of scales, from objects and furniture pieces to installations and spatial designs. With an emphasis on objects, one-to-one making and material investigation, this studio encourages an experimental approach to materials, decoration and process.
Focus
This year, Studio 1 will seek to radically redefine traditional notions of Home. In the past 20 years, our domestic habits have expanded to accommodate all kinds of alternative activities. In this studio we speculate that this expanded notion of home requires a new typology of home all together. Our networked society has meant that we never really have to leave our homes. We can shop from our homes and in turn we can sell from our homes. We can work from our homes, even run an entire hotel from our homes. Yet, despite these radical changes in behaviour, our homes look much the same as they have since the turn of the nineteenth century.
We are beginning to value the domestic realm in ways that we never have before, and in a world where a private island costs less than a London flat, and a man can make $36,000 a year on Airbnb, the home has become an extremely valuable asset. Set in the context of London, where rents are rocketing sky high whilst vast swathes of the city lie empty, we ask, how can we truly increase the value of our homes?
Briefs
The year will begin with a series of one-to-one making projects and material experiments. The focus will be on creating objects and furniture pieces that explore emergent behaviours and ways of living. From here we will direct our investigations towards the home. One major project will focus on the home/hotel as an emergent typology. Another major project will involve re-designing the home to accommodate contemporary behaviours, technologies and cultures.
Studio trip
Re-designing Airbnb rentals, Barcelona.
Details
Course | Interior Architecture and Design BA (Hons) Interior Design BA (Hons) |
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Tutors | Rachel Harding
Louie Rigano
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Where | Commercial Road, Studio 1, fifth floor |
When | Tuesday and Friday |