Hasta La Ideas

Light play and voyeurism in Dan Graham’s latest collection of glass sculptures

The new show by Dan Graham at the Lisson Gallery in London is at once predictable and unexpected. Those who have known and loved the interactive experience of Graham’s Pavilions for the last several decades will recognize his stamp, yet somehow—for those familiar or not with his work—Graham manages to create surprise and delight every time.

The 70-year-old artist continues to develop his series of structural meditations on the perception of space, which he began in the 1980s. The Lisson Gallery exhibition combines two new large pavilions with three pavilion scale models being built, and accompanying the show is a catalog of not-yet-realized pavilion drawings by the perpetually ambitious artist.

As studies on the concepts of inside and outside, it’s appropriate that Lisson has placed one large pavilion inside and one in their sculpture yard outside. The light-filled white space of the gallery suits the perfectly engineered minimalism of Graham’s work, which combines references to the slickness of modern architecture with the entrancing effect of a hall of mirrors.

However, Graham’s is best experienced outdoors where the concave and convex semi-reflective surfaces have so much more to play with, from sky and clouds to trees, buildings and people. The superbly detailed structures are both sculptures to admire and, at the same time, blank canvases to reflect their surroundings. Inside an empty white space, the reflections remain monochrome and calm. Outside, the glass canvas is splashed with busy, eclectic and multi-colored reflections that change rapidly and dramatically.

While many experience the Pavilions as playful spaces, it’s interesting to see the Lisson Gallery referencing more sinister themes such as voyeurism and surveillance. As they explain, it can indeed be disconcerting to be enveloped by a Dan Graham installation. According to the gallery’s description of the exhibition, “Viewers are involved in the voyeuristic act of seeing oneself reflected, while at the same time watching others. Whilst giving people a sense of themselves in space it can also result in loss of self as the viewer is momentarily unable to determine the difference between the physical reality and the reflection.”

Pavilions is on display at the Lisson Gallery through 28 April 2012.

Lisson Gallery

29 Bell Street

London, NW1

All photos by Leonora Oppenheim

London architects Pernilla & Asif have unveiled designs for a pavilion that can be played like a musical instrument for the London 2012 Olympic park.

The circular walls of the Coca-Cola Beatbox will be covered in ETFE plastic pillows that are sensitive to both movement and touch.

As visitors come into contact with the building each pillow will emit different sounds prerecorded by British DJ and producer Mark Ronson from a selection of Olympic sports.

A spiralling ramp will lead up behind the panels onto the roof of the pavilion, which will offer a panoramic view across the park.

See all our stories about the London 2012 Olympics here and check out our Designed in Hackney initiative to highlight creative talent in one of the five host boroughs here.

Here’s some more information from the press release:

Pernilla + Asif design the Coca-Cola Beatbox for London 2012

The designers of the Pavilion have been revealed as the critically acclaimed, emerging London practice, Pernilla & Asif, founded by Pernilla Ohrstedt, 30, and Asif Khan, 31. Pernilla and Asif have a history of collaborating on ingenious projects, and are in the process of designing an iconic building that will innovatively combine experimental architecture and cutting edge sound technology to create a stunning visual and sensory experience.

Called ‘The Coca-Cola Beatbox’, Pernilla and Asif’s pioneering building also acts as a musical instrument. It takes inspiration from Coca-Cola’s global platform for London 2012 – Move to the Beat – a campaign which aims to bring teens closer to the Olympics by fusing sport with their enduring passion for music. The creative concept will enable people to ‘play’ the Pavilion through interacting with sounds embedded within the architecture itself. Visitors will be able to create their own beat for London 2012 by remixing sounds of Olympic sports captured for an anthem that is being created for Coca-Cola by Grammy award-winning producer, Mark Ronson.

The appointment of Pernilla and Asif follows the culmination of a formal pitch process, supported by the prestigious London-based Architecture Foundation, which was initiated to discover the next big architectural talent in the UK and give them a showcase at London 2012. The Coca-Cola Beatbox will be the pair’s largest commission to date and has been designed to deliver a lasting legacy.

In line with Coca-Cola’s approach to achieving its most sustainable sponsorship activation to date, the design will also feature environmentally friendly technology.

Maxine Chapman, Director of Showcasing, London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Project Team, The Coca-Cola Company, said: “With the eyes of over four billion people on London next year, we want to use our long-standing association with the Olympic Movement to shine a spotlight on Britain’s brightest stars and inspire young people to pursue their passions.

“Pernilla and Asif impressed us with their creativity, technical skills and vision. I’m delighted that we’re able to give them such a fantastic opportunity to showcase their talents and passions on the world’s stage. I have no doubt that every visitor to the park will be inspired by their innovative and groundbreaking design, both during and beyond London 2012.”

Pernilla Ohrstedt and Asif Khan, said: “As Londoners we are really excited to be a part of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Coca-Cola, a truly iconic brand, has believed in our practice’s creativity and vision to represent them at London 2012, taking our unique architecture to a global audience.

“We have sought out some of the most innovative engineers in the UK to work with us to realise our vision – a ‘building with a beat’. The Coca-Cola Beatbox will be a sensory experience that fuses design, music, sport and architecture. It will be something that people have never seen or heard before!”

Designed in Hackney: today’s featured designers in our London borough of Hackney showcase are Archer Architects, who inserted a Corten steel-clad hotel behind the facade of a derelict pub in Shoreditch.

The 26-room boutique hotel is part of the Shoreditch House private members club, located on Ebor Street just outside the southwest corner of the borough.

Completed in 2012, the Corten steel extension adds an extra three storeys onto the roof of the old pub to bring the height of the building up to match that of its neighbours.

Guests enter the hotel through a ground floor reception that leads to rooms upstairs as well as to a garden on the roof.

The renovated building also includes a day spa called the Cowshed, which occupies the old bar area and the basement.

Archer Architects comprises a team of architects and designers, led by director Stephen Archer. Their studios are located in the Tea Building on the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green Road, almost next door to this project.

Key:

Blue = designers
Red = architects
Yellow = brands

See a larger version of this map.

Designed in Hackney is a Dezeen initiative to showcase world-class architecture and design created in the borough, which is one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices. We’ll publish buildings, interiors and objects that have been designed in Hackney each day until the games this summer.

More information and details of how to get involved can be found at www.designedinhackney.com.

Photography is by Tim Soar.

Hackney architects Theis and Khan have refurbished this apartment in south-west London by removing dividing walls, exposing the roof trusses and adding a terrace at the rear.

The residence is located on the approach to the Royal College of Art and sits on the first floor above an office that Theis and Khan previously renovated for the college.

Slight level changes in the timber flooring separate the different rooms of the open-plan living spaces.

Theis and Khan is one of the studios featured in our Designed in Hackney showcase of creative talent in the London borough that Dezeen calls home. See all the stories here.

Photography is by Nick Kane.

Here’s some more info from Theis and Khan Architects:

The residential refurbishment project, located above an earlier TKA office fit-out for the RCA, opened up the existing confined spaces to provide a generous, bright living area and open kitchen.

The two-bedroom apartment was extended to the rear, with a new terrace established. The roof trusses are exposed to provide a feeling of space and character to the apartment.

A controlled palette of timber floors and joinery with white walls provides a refined backdrop to a contemporary home.

A semi-circular vaulted concourse designed by British architects John McAslan + Partners will open at King’s Cross Station in London next week.

The architects, who have been progressing a masterplan for the railway station since 1998, have fully restored the five buildings that comprise the western elevation to serve as a backdrop to the new glazed entrance hall.

The criss-crossing steel structure unfurls like a tree from columns in front of this elevation and folds down around the space.

Departing passengers will be able to access the eight existing platforms in the main train shed, as well as one new one, directly through the new two-storey hall instead of beneath the temporary canopy currently in front of the building.

The architects plan to remove this structure during the next phases of construction to create a new public square.

John McAslan was awarded an OBE for services to architecture at the start of this year.

Other railway stations we’ve featured on Dezeen include Bijlmer Station in Amsterdam and Rossio Station in Lisbon – see them both and more here.

Photography is by Hufton + Crow, apart from where otherwise stated.

Above: photograph is by John Sturrock

Here’s some more information from John McAslan + Partners:

TRANSFORMING KING’S CROSS – LONDON’S HISTORIC STATION ACQUIRES A CONTEMPORARY TWIST

The new Western Concourse at King’s Cross opens to the public on Monday 19th March 2012.

“The transformation of King’s Cross station by John McAslan + Partners represents a compelling piece of place-making for London. The show-piece is clearly the Western Concourse – Europe’s largest single span station structure and the heart of the development, but the overall project is far more complex: an extraordinary, collaborative effort that has delivered an internationally significant transport interchange, fit for the 21st century and beyond.

We are very proud of our role as lead architects and master-planners of the King’s Cross redevelopment, and it’s immensely satisfying to see the project delivered on time, ready for the capital’s celebration of the London Olympics later this year.” John McAslan, Chairman John McAslan + Partners

With this multi-phased development now complete, the significance of the King’s Cross Station redevelopment is finally revealed. The transformation of King’s Cross Station for Network Rail involves three very different styles of architecture: re-use, restoration and new build. The train shed and range buildings have been adapted and re-used, the station’s previously obscured Grade I listed façade is being precisely restored, and a new, highly expressive Western Concourse has been designed as a centrepiece and the ‘beating heart’ of the project. When the station opens to the public next Monday, 19 March, King’s Cross will become a new, iconic architectural gateway to the city, ready for the 2012 London Olympics.

John McAslan + Partners began work on the project in 1998 and established the overall master-plan for the development in 2005. As a result the practice has played a key role in the wider transformation of the King’s Cross area – infrastructural, social and commercial changes that now connect the station with the massive King’s Cross Central scheme north of the station as well as to St Pancras, the London Underground, and the surrounding urban context. The architectural ambition of JMP’s scheme has been to create a new iconic landmark that will function as a key catalyst for the ongoing regeneration of this new London quarter as well as providing striking new facilities that will accommodate the 50 million passengers now passing through the station each year.

WESTERN CONCOURSE

The centrepiece of the £547m redevelopment is the new vaulted, semi-circular concourse to the west of the existing station. The concourse rises some 20m and spans the full 150m-length of the existing Grade I Listed Western Range, creating a new entrance to the station through the south end of the structure and at mezzanine level to the northern end of the Western Concourse.

The 7,500sqm concourse has become Europe’s largest single-span station structure, comprising of 16 steel tree form columns that radiate from an expressive, tapered central funnel. The graceful circularity of the concourse echoes the form of the neighbouring Great Northern Hotel, with the ground floor of the hotel providing access to the concourse. The Western Concourse sits adjacent to the façade of the Western Range, clearly revealing the restored brickwork and masonry of the original station. From this dramatic interior space, passengers access the platforms either through the ground level gate-lines in the Ticket Hall via the Western Range building, or by using the mezzanine level gate-line, which leads onto the new cross–platform footbridge.

Located above the new London Underground northern ticketing hall, and with retail elements at mezzanine level, the concourse will transform passenger facilities, whilst also enhancing links to the London Underground, and bus, taxi and train connections at St Pancras. The concourse is set to become an architectural gateway to the King’s Cross Central mixed-use developments, a key approach to the eastern entrance of St Pancras International. It will also act as an extension to King’s Cross Square, a new plaza that will be formed between the station’s southern façade and Euston Road.

WESTERN RANGE

The Western Range at King’s Cross is the historic station’s biggest component, accommodating a wide range of uses. Complex in plan, and articulated in five buildings, the practice’s considered architectural intervention has delivered greatly improved working conditions for the station staff, train-operating companies and Network Rail management teams. The Northern Wing, destroyed by bombing in World War II, has been rebuilt to its original design. The reinstatement of the Western Range also delivers key gated connections, including a new gate-line at the southern end, now the main point of connection between the Western Concourse and the platforms of the Main Train Shed.

MAIN TRAIN SHED

The station’s Main Train Shed is 250m long, 22m high and 65m wide, spanning eight platforms. The restoration includes revealing the bold architecture of the original south façade, re-glazing the north and south gables and refurbishing platforms The two barrel-vaulted roofs are currently being refurbished and lined with energy-saving photo- voltaic arrays along the linear roof lanterns, while a new glass footbridge designed by JMP extends across the Main Train Shed, replacing the old mid-shed Handyside bridge and giving access to every platform as well as the mezzanine level of the concourse.

Click above for larger image

JMP’s design integrates the main and suburban train sheds for the first time, creating a completely coherent ground- plan for passenger movements into and through the station. Improvements to the Suburban Train Shed located to the north of the Western Concourse and Western Range buildings have enhanced the operation of its three platforms (the busiest in the station during peak-hours).

Click above for larger image

The ambitious transformation of the station creates a remarkable dialogue between Cubitt’s original station and 21st- century architecture – a quantum shift in strategic infrastructure design in the UK. This relationship between old and new creates a modern transport super-hub at King’s Cross, whilst revitalising and unveiling one of the great railway monuments of Britain.