The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) 2015 is started (1st – 30th of June).
The Festival is made up of public projects selected through an open call, alongside projects delivered by LFA partners, RIBA London Open Studios and events and activities in conjunction with leading cultural and academic institutions.
It is an opportunity to present, discuss and challenge current issues within and connected to architecture.
Starting June 10, the RIBA will present for LFA The Brutalist Playground – an exhibition that is part sculpture, part architectural installation, which invites people of all ages to come and play, the Brutalist way.
Turner Prize nominated design and architecture collective Assemble and artist Simon Terrill will occupy the entire Architecture Gallery with this immersive landscape.
The exhibition draws on features from a number of London estates including Churchill Gardens, Pimlico; the Brunel Estate, Paddington and the Brownfield Estate in Poplar. The playgrounds were often made from concrete, cast into sculptural forms, which presented a distinct move away from previous playground design.
The exhibition installation will recreate visual elements from the playgrounds in reconstituted foam, creating an interactive, contemporary space where the viewer becomes participant and in this way completes the work. Archive images of the original playgrounds will be projected on the walls.
“The challenge of reconstructing elements of now forgotten Brutalist play structures within the RIBA gallery is an exciting opportunity for us to explore contemporary issues surrounding play, by looking at the often surreal objects from the past,” says Assemble on the creation of the installation. “Working closely with the RIBA collections and the artist Simon Terrill, the interpretation of these spaces has allowed us to ask questions around materiality and the nature of risk in play, while also giving greater visibility to the incredible original images of the playgrounds that can be found in the collections.”
Text by Eugenia Gotti
Title: The Brutalist Playground
Date: June 10, 2015 12:00 AM/August 16, 2015 12:00 AM
Venue: Architecture Gallery at RIBA, address 66 Portland Place, Marylebone, London W1B 1NR, UK
