design initiatives: a room for london

‘a room for london’ entry by design initiatives, london, england images courtesy of design initiatives

los angeles based studio, design initiatives has completed an entry for living architecture’s ‘a room for london‘ competition. the chosen design, a room for up to two guests, will be temporarily located on the roof of the queen elizabeth hall in london, england, for the year of the 2012 olympics.

the structure is proposed as a ‘boundary’ object, floating in neutral space between land and sky, employing a contrasting dialogue between active (the city below) and passive (the isolated retreat).

connected to urban life through contemplation and withdrawal, the room aims to dually position itself as something that is both an object to be viewed, becoming iconic, and an object that is elevated, overlooking the city and its activity. 

the organic shape of the structure intentionally juxtaposes the brutalist architecture of the building on which it sits. designed in two modules, each four meters in width, the unit can be transported on a flatbed truck and installed with greater ease. constructed out of fiber reinforced polymer, the room is lightweight and durable. all electrical and mechanical components are hidden in an attic space located above the bathroom.

designed thematically around the notion of gradation, the room transitions slowly between inside and out with a covered, open air terrace, and again inside where traditional public and private spaces intersect. an internal, secondary skin filters the light, generating an environment that can be easily manipulated by its user. a hybrid furniture piece combines the bed, sofa, desk, coffee table, bedside table and shelf into one object. the modular system, which uses the bed as its base, was designed after studying how people actually live and work away from home.

hybrid furniture piece

a diagram of the two separate modules

site plan

floor plan

project info:

project architect: vlado valkof designers: anne valkof, ulysses carmona 3D visualization: ivan dimov, oleg topalov area: 45 square meters