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Spacial Play

@spacialplay

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Devoted to beautiful places and spaces.
A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines – FLW

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Yves Saint Laurent

YSL’s abode on the left bank of Paris is the text book answer to art, history, glamour, and most of all, the 70s. The design is eclectic and sensual, product of a wondrous, masterful collaboration between himself, Pierre Bergé and Jacques Grange. Writer Marian McEvoy went as far to describe it as ‘one of the sexiest places (she’d) ever been’. Suitably more name drops come in the form of 1920s Wooden Panelling by Jean Michael-Frank, art by Andy Warhol, and mirrors by Claude Lalanne.

Every essence of this home is a breathtaking departure from the sterile minimalism of the decade. The scents of florals, antiquity, and cigarettes suffused the air while the lighting was meticulously altered to flatter one’s guests. The carpets were yellow, the sofas leopard, and the corners intimate, every detail so compelling one is left with no option but to envelop themselves entirely into yet another immersive world of YSL. by @spacialplay

Joan Miró’s Studio, Josep Lluís Sert, 1956. (Moneo Building added in 1992 by Rafael Moneo).

Nestled between the Balearic coast and mountains of Mallorca is Joan Miró’s studio and sanctuary, a space inhabited by the artist for 23 years. It seems like an obvious ambition in design, but here the owner and location’s influence on the architecture has never been quite so prevalent. The man behind such a triumph? Miró’s great friend Josep Lluís Sert.

Sert understood the simple demands for what this property needed to bestow; light, space, and inspiration. The juxtaposition of windows sends varying beams of divine Mediterranean light across the canvases. The space is plentiful with high ceilings for Miró’s larger works. And the inspiration is forever evolving with architectural shape shifting as the sun moves across the barreling roof.

Colour and material is used primitively throughout. Accents of Red, Blue, and Yellow penetrate the rolling white walls, and materials are gathered from the local landscape. This is even seamlessly echoed within Rafaela Moneo’s 1992 modern extension; the Moneo Building.

This place is the epitome of serenity, channeling almost monastic qualities that feed into the overarching theme of artistic contemplation. It is the chapel of Miró. by @spacialplay

Francis Bacon, 1909-1992

Did you know that Francis Bacon was not only an esteemed painter, but also an interiors designer too?

He rarely sold his works, only sharing them with friends and occasional patrons, but this didn’t stop The Studio Magazine from spotlighting his designs in the ‘1930 Look in British Decoration’. Here they describe his designs as ‘representative of today’, continuing to add that his inspiration is not traditional but ‘purely thought forms’.

These thought forms spread across screens, rugs, lamps and tubular steel furniture, all heavily influenced by the Bauhaus movement that was happening simultaneously. by @spacialplay

Richard Serra Saturday.

It is nearly impossible to categorise someone such as Richard Serra, not should I. His work is a golden thread that fuses sculpture, architecture, engineering, philosophy, geography, and performance.

Serra inherited his obsession with steel from his father who was a pipe fitter at a San Francisco ship yard. He often cited his first experience of a ship launch, amazed at how something ‘as large as a sky scrapper’ could embody such a lightness, gliding effortlessly over the water. It is the illusion of volume, mass, space, time, texture, and process that reads within every product of Serra. Despite the reality of thousands of tones of steel, his works are unimposing, polite, and meditative. by @spacialplay

Casa Magíca, Alejandro Pietri, 1990.

This modernist residence is extraordinary for many reasons, but the heart and soul of the project is the fact this an architect’s dying wish. During the early stages of planning Casa Magíca, Pietri was diagnosed with cancer, and thus dedicated himself to create an ultimate architectural testament of his life’s work. Though he did not see the project through, passing in 1992, he had specifically designed this home in a way that his Nephew Iñaki Odriozola could complete.

Despite being intended as a residential home, it is impossible to escape the church-like iconography throughout. Colourful panels serve as stain glass windows, accumulating at the top of the building as a spectacular dome. Then there is the spiral staircase that climbs up the double height space like a stairway to heaven.

There is no surprise in this project being named the Magic House, it is bursting with organic and spontaneous decisions, an architect’s grand finale. by @spacialplay

Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Redesigned later by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, 1901-1930.

In the heart of Barcelona, this complex is notable for its masterful fusion of Catalan Modernism and Art Nouveau, but more importantly as a functioning hospital for nearly 600 years up until 2009. The hospital was originally erected as a result of the 1348 black plague, during which 1/3 of the population died and naturally there was a demand for health care advancements.

Located in the district of El Raval, the original structure was of course gothic civil architecture, a style conserved through its restorations. Not so coincidentally, this was the hospital Antoni Gaudí chose to spent his final moments after a traffic incident in 1926. by @spacialplay

Restoration and Extension for Convent Saint-François, Designed by Amelia Taverna, 2023.

Located high in the hills of Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano, Corsica, this build begun in 1480 as a defensive castle, before being claimed by Monks aware of the beauty of the site, ‘faith rallies to the sublime’ says Taverna.

It was crucial for the copper extension to honour the brick and plant armour of the ruin. Taverna retained the broken down walls, and honoured the vines and trees that have weaved through the bricks and protected walls from collapse and erosion.

The extension simply replaces the phantom part of the building, creating the new House of Territory. Copper was chosen for its softness and femininity, and importantly its ability to capture and reflect light, ‘sending it back to the sky like the prayers of the monks and the faithful who address themselves to the Most Hight’ says Taverna. by @spacialplay

This summer I had the privilege in visiting the sensational Palazzo Butera in Palermo, Sicily. The building dates back to the 17th Century and has welcomed the edits and contributions of many artisans over the years. In 2016, collectors Francesca Frua de Angeli and Massimo Valsecchi acquired the Palazzo, and assisted by the architect Giovanni Cappelletti and their extensive art collection, transformed this space into some beautiful amalgamation of Baroque and Contemporary intervention.

Personal highlights of this visit were; paintings of Sicilian territories suspended from the ceiling in a zigzag formation, the Marmorino technique that mixes paint and plaster on the walls to replicate the aesthetic of fabric that once hung there, the carved floating ceilings decorated with abstract fresco, and the playful geometric tiling used on the exterior terrace.

The Palazzo was originally built for the Branciforte Family in 1701 with the design attributed to Baroque architect Giang Batissta Vaccarini. It was an aristocratic venue that hosted balls, botanical gardens, and public spectacles such as hot air balloon take offs and landings.

@spacialplay by @spacialplay

Villa Palladio Jaipur, Design Collaboration between Marie-Anne Oudejans and Barbara Moilini, 2022.

Villa Palladio Jaipur’s jewel aesthetic perfectly suits its historical location in the North-Western state of Rajasthan, home to the ancient Silk Routes. The pairing of designers sought to celebrate and fuse the rich visual beauty of Indian and European culture, decorating the spine of a traditional haveli with Baroque design. by @spacialplay

Verner Panton (1926-1928).

Renowned for his playful furniture and interior design, Panton is rightfully considered one of the most influential 20th century Danish architects. His projects are instantly recognisable for their dense atmospheric spaces, filled with strong colours and elaborate geometric shapes.

It was the 60s, and vibrancy was the game, an epoch of self-expression where décor and fashion were bi-polar in just about every way. Panton’s experimental, utopian interiors evoke the spirit of change taking place in the USA at the time. A spirit of change where sensation was one’s driving motif.

Amongst his many designs the Spiegel Publishing House is arguably the most remarkable with its electric fusion of form and colour. NOTE- the pool was specially designed for the publishing house’s employees to enjoy. by @spacialplay

Steel House, Designed by Robert Bruno, 1973.

This biomorphic structure is the stands proud, looking over Lake Ransom Canyon. Constructed over three decades, Steel House was originally intended to remain a large scale sculpture until the architect transformed it into his personal home. Built with virtually no assistance this structure was Bruno’s life project, designing and modifying it for over 33 years.

The Steel House is a unique, recognised for its animal-like four legs and curving organic forms, layered like the rock cliff it sits on. As one walks around and through the building, the walls seem to shift up and down creating theatric shadows through the day. Although utopian, the rusty steel embeds the structure within the surrounding landscape, creating a harmonious unity between the architecture and nature. by @spacialplay

Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier, 1929.

One of the most important contributions to contemporary architecture in the 20th century is the Villa Savoye, located in Poissy, a small commune just outside of Paris. Many pin this project as Le Corbusier’s ‘masterpiece’, a perfect response to the advent of the machine age.

Little limitations in the client's brief for the home allowed Le Corbusier the opportunity to design a structure that embodied his Five Points of Architecture. These include a flat roof used as a garden or terrace, open-plan interiors, ribbon windows for light and ventilation, and a free facade independent from the load-bearing structure.

Le Corbusier believed the home to be a "machine for living in", inspired by the architect's admiration for automobiles and transatlantic steamships. His devotion to industrialism is famously tested in his curved design of the ground level, corresponding to the turning radius of automobiles in 1929. The curved structure enabled the owner to simply drive around the larger volume and pull into the integrated garage in a slick, uninterrupted motion.

10/10 for King Corbusier. by @spacialplay