Author: Angus Tung

The British Museum, originally designed by Robert Smirke, was designed with a garden and promenade in the middle of the building.

Later, in the mid-19th century, shelves and reading rooms were built in the middle area, which became the museum’s library. In 1997, the library, originally located in the atrium of the British Museum, was relocated to the British Library in King’s Cross.

After the reading space being removed, the remaining space was the result of a competition involving over 130 proposals, which was awarded to the UK’s leading architects, Foster + Partners. With a total budget of £100 million, the building continues Foster + Partners’ experience of designing the German Parliament in Berlin, the atrium of the British Museum, which is also designed with a glass and steel frame.

“The glazed canopy that makes all this possible is a fusion of state-of-the-art engineering and economy of form. Its unique geometry is designed to span the irregular gap between the drum of the Reading Room and the courtyard facades, and forms both the primary structure and the framing for the glazing, which is designed to reduce solar gain. As a cultural square, the Court also resonates beyond the confines of the museum, forming a new link in the pedestrian route from the British Library to Covent Garden, the river and the South Bank. To complement this artery, the Museum’s forecourt was restored to form a new civic space. Together with the Great Court, it is a major new amenity for London.” – Fost + Partners

It is my belief that the design of the great hall is an architectural miracle; it is a perfect synthesis of traditional Roman architecture with modern architecture. I believe users could notice a profound change in mood and atmosphere as soon as they entered the great hall. It is so magnificent that people suddenly lower their voices when entering the great hall. It is likely that an immaculate space would make people feel more serious, more cautious, and more formal, which would mean you had to be cautious about what you did with the space (outside of being cautious about breaking an artifact). 

Considering my project is about a cafe focusing on natural elements, recycled materials, sustainability, and environmentally friendly materials, my objective is to study how ancient people designed their interiors using the most natural elements and techniques. In particular, I am interested in seeing how ancient craftsmen used clay, tiles, and natural fabrics to design their space. As I observed in the British Museum, tiles have been used quite frequently through history for everything from paving in a merchant’s house to decorative art on the walls of a church. It is particularly evident in Medieval Europe that tiles were designed and painted with patterns and arts for decorative purposes and to tell stories.

The following is a group of beautifully crafted tiles that date back to the 13th century in England. Several combat scenes involving men and lions were intended to glorify Richard I’s (King of England) reputation through imagery.

Another example is a set of tile pavements from the 15th century found in Leicestershire. Based on the marks on the tile, it could be determined as the mark of a merchant back in 1450 to 1525. 

Across different cultures and eras, you can see how ancient artists and craftsmen created tiles in a different manner, which is quite intriguing to see and to consider what the artists and craftsmen were thinking during those days.

It was quite interesting to see how ancient English craftsmen handled clay, pottery, and tiles. Humans have never ceased to explore the boundaries of tiles or any other building material even today. For instance, as part of my preliminary research into the emerging business, I have chosen to focus on a cafe and its byproduct, coffees. An innovative designer from the United Kingdom, Atticus Durnell, has created a range of products made from recycled coffee grounds, from tiles to furniture.

As a final note, I believe that a visit to the British Museum is an interesting experience to see how ancient people designed their space. As an individual, I would be even more impressed if they were able to tell us more about how ancient craftsmen made the artifacts or how archaeologists discovered them.

The most outstanding exhibition I have seen recently is Heather Phillipson’s RUPTURE NO 1: BLOWTORCHING THE BITTEN PEACH, which just ended on January 23rd, 2022 at Tate Britain.

In her words, she has transformed “the spaces as a sequence of charged ecosystems, maladaptive seasons, and rediscovered lifeforms.” This is “alive in a parallel time-zone.” “Mutant creatures, built from technological remains, inhabit the space.” As I see from the exhibition, mutant creatures constructed from technological remains populated the space, creating a variety of sensations and associations that are difficult to categorize. Just as she describes, she’s attempting to “cultivate strangeness, and its potential to generate ecstatic experience”.

As you can see from some of these photographs that I took during my visit, Heather did a remarkable job of converting different parts of a machine and technological waste into various life forms that are reminiscent of the wild animals found on Earth. Meanwhile, with the help of digital media, lighting effects and sounding effects, she gives the visitors a uniquely immersive experience that allows them to think thoroughly about the whole design theme whether they have any design or artistic backgrounds or not. 

I also believe Heather Phillipson’s RUPTURE NO 1: BLOWTORCHING THE BITTEN PEACH belongs to one of the biggest design movements that arose in the 21st century, Dadaism and Neo Dadaism, which is a means of rejecting the traditional and embracing the strange and the absurd. According to Heather, her art involves the collision of wildly different images, media, and materials. As she said, “through multiple and unexpected combinations, I invent absurd and complex systems.” Although she did not mention the movement behind her work description, it was evident that she is very passionate about its philosophy. 

In its unique way, the exhibition brings a sense of familiarity and strangeness together. In light of those familiar with wild nature and ecology, the replacement of it by machinery causes visitors to wonder whether this is only a fantasy in another parallel time, as Heather claims, or whether it is a future reality. Since the industrial revolution, humans have consumed increasingly more natural resources. This includes mining the mountains, destroying rainforests, creating pollution and greenhouse gases, and spilling oil over the ocean, among other practices. This behaviour has resulted in a hazardous environment for other species as well, specifically wild animals. Someday, perhaps the kinds of wild animals we will see in the future will be those that aren’t afraid of pollution at all. Possibly, they will be as strong as the imaginary animals in Heather’s exhibition. We may also see robotic animals in the future as human technology evolves and artificial intelligence advances. It may not be so absurd after all that Heather’s imagined world is.

It is my natural state as a designer to combine two or more abstract ideas or concepts together to create something new, and Heather’s concept behind the exhibition also inspires me in that respect. Although there is a separation between nature and machinery, Heather has been able to merge the two abstract concepts to create a parallel universe through her design vision. I believe that this principle also applies to interior design. This is because we are often required to combine two or more concepts and ideas when designing an interior space for a client. For example, through our final project in Unit 1, we were to consider the client’s profile, interest in collections, professionals, and site location during the initial design process. Combining two opposing concepts or ideas can often result in an unexpected outcome. 

To conclude, I believe Heather has done an outstanding job with this exhibition. Moreover, I believe that art and design should be more accessible to people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities. Despite the fact that art does not have to always be so profound, it can have depth and meaning (or none at all), but it does not have to be so difficult to understand for those without formal artistic training. As a result, after visiting the exhibition, I was able to understand Heather’s work through her perspective while acquiring a critical and diverse design mindset that will be incredibly beneficial for my design journey moving forward.

References:

Tate, Tate Britain Commission: Heather Phillipson: Rupture no 1: Blowtorching the bitten peach – exhibition at Tate Britain. Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/heather-phillipson [Accessed February 25, 2022].

Hoins, M., 2016. “Neo-dadaism”: Absurdist humor and the millennial generation. Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@meganhoins/neo-dadaism-absurdist-humor-and-the-millennial-generation-f27a39bcf321 [Accessed February 25, 2022].

Hoins, M., 2016. “Neo-dadaism”: Absurdist humor and the millennial generation. Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@meganhoins/neo-dadaism-absurdist-humor-and-the-millennial-generation-f27a39bcf321 [Accessed February 25, 2022].

“Irish-born artist Francis Bacon was the horse breeder’s son who became one of the most important painters of the 20th century. An openly gay man at a time when homosexuality was illegal, he was banished from his conservative family home by his father at 16. After that, he drifted through Berlin and Paris before establishing himself in London, with his formative years running parallel with some of the 20th century’s most profoundly disturbing events. This powerful exhibition will focus on Bacon’s unerring fascination with animals: how it both shaped his approach to the human body and distorted it; how, caught at the most extreme moments of existence, his figures are barely recognizable as either human or beast.”

In the entry space of the exhibit, the room suddenly changes into a dark colour theme compared to the outside, where all viewers’ attention goes towards the one and only painting on the wall, which immediately gives a strong statement to the viewer of the theme of this exhibition.

I noticed that the galleries have different colour-painted walls to accommodate different paintings.

Throughout the entire exhibition, most paintings exude a depressing atmosphere as if they could immerse the viewers into Bacon’s deepest mind. However, compared to the atmosphere brought by the paintings, the exhibit space itself gives a very neutral and calming effect.

I noticed that the galleries have different colour-painted walls to accommodate different paintings. When the paintings showcased in the room have a strong colour theme or contrast, it is being placed inside the room where the walls are painted in white so viewers can focus on the use of colours and the emotions behind the paintings. This is quite clever when you want to emphasize the colour of the painting inside the space as you would not like to have any other colours drawing away viewers’ attention.

However, when showcasing paintings with strong movements or actions, the room was painted in a burgundy colour (darker red) instead. In some cultures, red could be associated with hatred, anger and aggression, which would perfectly suit some of Bacon’s paintings.