Type: Gallery fit out

Year: 2022

Client: Science Gallery London

 

The project is a kit of parts for fostering a welcoming and comfortable spacee in an institutional environment. It acts as a set of tools for the Science Gallery to create different types of interactions between its programme and its visitors. The kit is designed to allow for an informal and blurry use of space, layering prescribed activities such as visiting exhibitions and workshops with more incidental uses such as resting and socialising.

 

The wayfinding is designed with a holistic approach to accessibility, combining clear labelling with a visual abstraction of the spaces into colour and form. Each space is translated into a ceramic form, representing atmosphere and use, slip cast in stained parian. Textured paper varies subtly in shade to establish different levels of attention and interactions across exhibition information.

 

The project leans towards a domestic scale and materiality, using curtains and textiles, to add softness and comfort. Chairs, already owned by the client, are hacked with bespoke upholstery, and curtains have been designed with varying transparencies to create varying levels of intimacy. Natural materials such as linen, ash, hemp, and ceramic, create soft and undulating forms throughout, giving the infrastructure a tactile and organic feel, whilst reducing the impact on the planet.

 

Collaborators:

Graphic design: Plan B 

Ceramics: Charlotte Moore and Maria Saeki (Studio/HOTmess)

Fabricator: Peter Bennett Studio

Upholstery: Charlotte Ferreira Upholstery

Curtains: Cawley Studio

Structural engineering: Bric Design