antony gormley stacks inhabitable sculpture suite at beaumont hotel in london

antony gormley stacks inhabitable sculpture suite at beaumont hotel in london
images by stephen white

the façade of london’s new beaumont hotel has been topped by a giant crouching figure conceived by british artist antony gormley. ‘room’ is a geometrically stacked livable habitat formed through the piled composition of metallic cube upon cube, arranged to resemble a giant sitting man. ‘I take the body as our primary habitat.’ gormley describe ‘room contrasts a visible exterior of a body formed from large rectangular masses with an inner experience. the interior of room is only 4 metres square but 10 meters high: close at body level, but lofty and open above. shutters over the window provide total blackout and very subliminal levels of light allow me to sculpt darkness itself. my ambition for this work is that it should confront the monumental with the most personal, intimate experience.’

the stacked giant man crouches atop the structure

the interior of the site-specific sculpture is a suite, one of the luxury rooms available at the newly opened hotel. a small, narrow rectangular window at the very core of the crouching man lets slivers of light within the room during the day, whose high towering ceilings can be experienced, entered and lived inside. a black curtain exists as the entryway into the space, which has been intentionally left sparse.

piles of cubes are arranged atop the beaumont hotel

the top of the sculpture soars into london’s sky

a window in the middle of the sculpture adds light to the interior of the room

the illustration indicates the position of ‘room’ on the hotel’s surface
drawing courtesy of the beaumont hotel

the façade is treated by gormley’s soaring statue
drawing courtesy of the beaumont hotel