Bringing together Clerkenwell’s rich industrial history and the Sto Group's range of IQ façade finishes, dynamic young architecture practice Bureau de Change has just unveiled a captivating installation at the manufacturer’s London gallery space, Sto Werkstatt.
Entitled ‘Droplet’, the piece is a ‘sensorial’ installation, explain the architecture firm’s directors, Billy Mavropoulos and Katerina Dionysopoulou. ‘The main challenge of the brief was how we could utilise a product whose "magic" effect is essentially invisible,’ adds Dionysopoulou. ‘The installation sets up a "compare and contrast" scenario, whereby the IQ coating can be seen working in a live way.’
Installation view of 'Droplet'.
A visit does not disappoint. The display, arranged in a grid formation, consists of 100 elegantly made pendulums and a three-dimensional surface of 100 petal-like forms below them. Tinted water drips down the pendulums’ chains onto the sculptural carved forms underneath – which are CNC'd from Sto’s lightweight façade material Verolith – creating an ever-changing pattern within this calmly energetic piece. A soundtrack of water dripping completes the effect.
'We are using a set of the company’s intelligent paints – one that repels water and one that doesn't,' explains Mavropoulos. ‘The texture of the water-repellent pain replicates properties of the lotus plant, which allows water to glide over it smoothly.’
The site-specific installation also drew on the Sto building’s history, which at the end of the 1800s and beginning of the 1900s was part of the John Groom Foundation, which employed disadvantaged women in flower-making (creating flowers out of textiles was big business in London at the time).
The installation's base is CNC'd into a pattern of lotus leaves, referencing the way the plant interacts with water.
'We worked with the Metropolitan Archives, which are situated around the corner, and borrowed their flower-making tools, which we 3D-scanned and 3D-printed to display them here,' continues Mavropoulos. ‘These helped inspire the petal shapes in the installation. Even the pendulums refer back to Clerkenwell’s history and specifically its long tradition in clock-making.’
The multi-layered show aims to unfold the area’s different historic layers, while offering a dynamic display that engages the visitor, and an inspiring showcase of Sto’s cutting-edge product.
The exhibition shows delicate pendulums hanging from the ceiling. These guide tinted water that drops onto a leaf-inspired three-dimensional base below, creating patterns
The architects tapped into the area's history and specifically the Sto Werkstatt building's history as a flower-making facility in Victorian times
Two types of tinted water are used – one that is completely water resistant, and one that isn't, emphasising the different effect each creates
INFORMATION
’Droplet’ is on view until 16 December. For more information, visit the Sto Werkstatt London website (opens in new tab)
ADDRESS
Sto Werkstatt
7–9 Woodbridge Street
London EC1R 0LL
VIEW GOOGLE MAPS (opens in new tab)
-
Sabato De Sarno is appointed new creative director of GucciItalian designer Sabato De Sarno – formerly of Valentino – is the new creative director of Gucci, replacing Alessandro Michele who left the house last November
-
Sotheby’s to auction Marie-Antoinette’s armchairs, amid other regal lots, in aid of French château
Sotheby’s Paris will auction works from the collection of interior designer Jacques Garcia in aid of Château du Champ de Bataille
-
Marco Campardo wins Design Museum’s emerging designer prize
The Design Museum, London, announces Marco Campardo as winner of The Ralph Saltzman Prize, an annual accolade to celebrate and support emerging designers
-
Home and art gallery Maison Colbert is a London transformation story
Maison Colbert by Chris Dyson Architects reimagines a row of London houses into a single home and artist's gallery in the East End
-
The dMFK office in Fitzrovia hails a postpandemic approach to workspace
The new office of architects dMFK in Fitzrovia, designed by the studio alongside architects Sher + White, exemplifies the reimagining of workspaces for a postpandemic London
-
Two Hands nursery by vPPR is where design flair meets sustainability
Two Hands nursery in London, designed by vPPR, mixes colourful interiors and sustainable architecture elements with wellbeing in mind
-
London architecture exhibitions 2023: a guide to the best shows this month
Exciting, beautiful and thought-provoking London architecture exhibitions; here's our pick of the finest in town, to visit and enjoy this month
-
Is ProxyAddress architecture’s answer to solving homelessness?
ProxyAddress founder Chris Hildrey talks to us about architecture changing the world, and his pioneering initiative to help solve homelessness
-
Sustainable Farnham house unites contemporary architecture and nature
A sustainable Farnham house in the Surrey countryside combines a secluded, sloping site with modern materials
-
The finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
Can’t get enough of brutalism? Neither can we. Scroll below, for some of the world's finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
-
Looking Glass Lodge immerses its guests in British nature
Looking Glass Lodge by Michael Kendrick Architects is an idyllic woodland retreat in the UK’s East Sussex
