Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined
Seven architectural practices from around the globe have transformed the main galleries of the Royal Academy of Arts (RA), London.
The RA commissioned the architects to create site-specific installations to explore the essential elements of architecture. Instead of representations of buildings in the form of models, plans or photographs, the RA is re-defining the traditional architectural exhibition to immerse visitors in a multi-sensory experience. Titled ‘Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined’, the exhibition considers architecture from the angle of the human encounter: how vision, touch, sound and memory play a role in the perception of space, proportion, materials and light.
The architects include well-known and emerging practices from diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds, such as Kengo Kuma (Japan), Diébédo Francis Kéré (Germany/Burkina Faso), Li Xiaodong (China), Grafton Architects (Ireland), Pezo von Ellrichshausen (Chile) and Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura (Portugal).
The architects have been carefully selected to form a group whose distinct approaches share similarities and offer contrasts. Exploring the senses, Kuma highlights the importance of scent to architecture, with a structure inspired by the Japanese smell ceremony Ko-Do, while Kéré’s tunnel invites visitors to physically interact with the structure’s fabric. A labyrinth by Li Xiaodong creates a sense of containment and compression, which contrasts to Grafton’s exploration of light. A monumental structure by Pezo von Ellrichshausen occupies the largest of the galleries and challenges the viewers’ sense of perspective and Siza and Souto de Moura’s subtle installations encourage visitors to consider the architectural history of the building itself.
‘Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined’ is on display until Sunday 6 April 2014 at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.
—
