Ultra Ruin thumbnail 1
Ultra Ruin thumbnail 2
+3
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D , Case SB8, Shelf SH2

Ultra Ruin

Architectural Model
2009 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Using the landscape of the Museum as a test site, the V&A invited nineteen architects to submit proposals for structures that examine notions of refuge and retreat. Responding to specific locations in the Museum, the architects explored themes such as study, work, play, performance and contemplation. Seven of the proposals were then selected for construction at full-scale.

These projects promoted an attitude to architecture where to 'dwell' meant something more than simply to find shelter. Each building invited the participation of the viewer. These immersive environments reawakened people's ability to inhabit architectural space on both a physical and an emotional level.

The architects propose that this structure would be built in Finland, in an abandoned industrial space. The C-Laboratory team would inhabit the building (with its live/work spaces, sauna and fireplace) for two weeks. During this time they would write, edit and print a newspaper. The structure would then be dismantled and re-assembled at the V&A as a creative laboratory. The newspaper would be distributed around the Museum during the exhibition.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleUltra Ruin (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Balsa wood
Brief description
Model for 1:1 Architects Build Small Spaces exhibition, 'Ultra Ruin', by C Laboratory - Marco Casagrande, Inkoo, Finland, 2009.
Physical description
A model of a building made out of slats and batons of balsa wood, the structure has a sloping roof with a circular hole in it and one side is removable to reveal the interior, a staircase leading to a mezzanine and a series of balsa wood shelves and boxes.
Dimensions
  • Height: 300mm
  • Width: 300mm
  • Depth: 260mm
Style
Credit line
Given by Marco Casagrande/C-Laboratory
Summary
Using the landscape of the Museum as a test site, the V&A invited nineteen architects to submit proposals for structures that examine notions of refuge and retreat. Responding to specific locations in the Museum, the architects explored themes such as study, work, play, performance and contemplation. Seven of the proposals were then selected for construction at full-scale.

These projects promoted an attitude to architecture where to 'dwell' meant something more than simply to find shelter. Each building invited the participation of the viewer. These immersive environments reawakened people's ability to inhabit architectural space on both a physical and an emotional level.

The architects propose that this structure would be built in Finland, in an abandoned industrial space. The C-Laboratory team would inhabit the building (with its live/work spaces, sauna and fireplace) for two weeks. During this time they would write, edit and print a newspaper. The structure would then be dismantled and re-assembled at the V&A as a creative laboratory. The newspaper would be distributed around the Museum during the exhibition.
Bibliographic reference
Abraham Thomas, 1:1 Architects Build Small Spaces (London: V&A publications, 2010)
Collection
Accession number
E.1446-2010

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Record createdFebruary 1, 2011
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