Output details

101 Spinning Wardrobe

Conversion of existing house

RESEARCH CONTENT AND PROCESS

--Description--

The 101_Spinning Wardrobe was one component of a larger refurbishment of a Victorian terraced single-family house situated on Queen’s Park in north-west London. It is part of a series of projects by Storp_Weber_Architects that investigate the effects of kinetic objects in existing building fabrics – an attempt to change the way spaces are seen and occupied through movement.

In 101_Spinning Wardrobe the object introduced into the building is represented by a moveable ‘play structure’ between the bedrooms of two children. It responds to research into the significance of kinetic environments for influencing the habits of children. It proposes that a playful environment can aid in the development of spatial awareness, alertness and wellbeing of children.

--Questions--

1. How do children understand and inhabit spaces through body movement?

2. How can a space engage and help children in their spatial development?

3. How can cinema, especially silent films, inform building design theory and practice?

4. How can small-size interior spaces be temporarily adapted to facilitate multiple uses?

--Methods--

Story-telling, architect-made toys, model-making at various scales and stop-frame animations as architectural design and communication tools. Cinematic, literary and design references were used to generate and contextualise the design process for the project: in particular, Buster Keaton’s films One Week (1920) and The Scarecrow (1921); C.S. Lewis’s novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950); and Bruno Munari’s 1950–1970 child-informed design. The resulting design is an interactive, kinetic structure connecting and dividing two bedrooms in a playful way.

--Dissemination--

Exhibited at the Building Centre, London; reviewed in Architects’ Journal, Grand Designs Magazine, Designboom and Archidose; presented at the ArchTheo conference in Istanbul and published in the proceedings; available as an online film (with over 12,000 views).

SIGNIFICANCE

Shortlisted for the AJ Small Building Award (2011).