https://formsofliving.com formsofliving.com Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:45:22 +0000 https://formsofliving.com en https://formsofliving.com/Homepage Fri, 26 Aug 2022 17:25:37 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/Homepage https://formsofliving.com/News-1 Wed, 25 Jan 2023 18:46:30 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/News-1 07/03/2024Leeds School of Architecture Open Lecture on Forms of Living 5:30 pm R50601/03/2024 Air AA Podcast interview. On the Steps of 36: Episode 10&nbsp; You can listen to the interview here 13/11/2023Opening of the exhibition Portraits of a Practice: The life and work of MJ Long at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. Designed by Forms of Living and curated by Elena Palacios Carral. The exhibittion will be run from 13/11/2023 to 09/12/2023 <img width="1874" height="1436" width_o="1874" height_o="1436" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bc579e47ad0c8023bf2da8225683095427569b307cc5a5bb9303400d8d689930/Screenshot-2023-11-01-at-10.46.50.jpg" data-mid="195525094" border="0" alt="&copy; Photograph by Yushi Li, 2023" data-caption="© Photograph by Yushi Li, 2023" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bc579e47ad0c8023bf2da8225683095427569b307cc5a5bb9303400d8d689930/Screenshot-2023-11-01-at-10.46.50.jpg" /> Read here 24/03/2023Forms of Living presented a paper at the CounterArchitecture/University of East London/ARUP conference in March this year Repurposing Places for social and environmental resilience.The research focuses on the past, present and future of New Towns in the UK. This is the result of architecture briefs set at UK universities in Cambridge, Kingston, and Oxford Brookes (2019-2023). Read here <img width="5772" height="4000" width_o="5772" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/335859c7c2fadfa061a8c0836aaceac657b1a5dd40f3e3f876b8695484ad33cb/new-towns.jpg" data-mid="173952589" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/335859c7c2fadfa061a8c0836aaceac657b1a5dd40f3e3f876b8695484ad33cb/new-towns.jpg" /> 16/12/2022Together with OMMX and Sal Wilson, Forms of Living has been shortlisted for the Eco Home pavilion competition to rethink the future of sustainable living. The proposal, The Thick of It, explores the environmental and social imperative for materially resourceful, better insulated homes. The team is interested in the thickness of walls, the environments they create internally and externally, and how they mediate our lives together. The competition is oranised by the London Festival of Architecture and the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects. Read here <img width="4961" height="3508" width_o="4961" height_o="3508" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/81feb618671ef3ebf65a3376195ac9bf956c9663c64c192e3521f9f0e7ca586d/2211-LFAECO_EPC_Final.jpg" data-mid="166009273" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/81feb618671ef3ebf65a3376195ac9bf956c9663c64c192e3521f9f0e7ca586d/2211-LFAECO_EPC_Final.jpg" /> 01/12/2022Elena Palacios Carral was awarded RIBA Research Funding Grant for her research project, Portraits of a Practice: The Making of a Doll’s House by MJ Long. Portraits of a Practice: The Making of a Doll’s House by MJ Long is a research project about the life and work of the architect Mary Jane Long as told through a study of a Doll’s House she made in the 1980s for her young daughter.The research project is set to feature as an exhibition at the AA in 2023. Read here <img width="7952" height="5302" width_o="7952" height_o="5302" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2a6d53dfb18790c0003a205595be75fef85b21af2bf8757360b0a2fc869dcc46/Yushi.jpg" data-mid="166007950" border="0" alt="&copy; Photograph by Yushi Li, 2022" data-caption="© Photograph by Yushi Li, 2022" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2a6d53dfb18790c0003a205595be75fef85b21af2bf8757360b0a2fc869dcc46/Yushi.jpg" /> 23/09/2022Elena Palacios Carral (Forms of Living) will teach Vertical Studio 13 at the BA (Hons) Architecture in Central Saint Martins alongside Sabrina Puddu (Territories of Incarceration) this academic year. The brief, entitled Restorative Practices, reacts against mainstream actions that society and institutions deploy to deal with harm, conflict and injustice. Against displacement or incarceration, the studio conceives architectural projects developed out of an identified restorative practice. https://formsofliving.com/Portraits-of-a-Practice Sat, 27 Aug 2022 08:31:30 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/Portraits-of-a-Practice Portraits of a Practice: The Life and Work of MJ LongDesign and Research Project | 2021 - ongoing <img width="4429" height="4429" width_o="4429" height_o="4429" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/81adc18224a6aaf85456e2ca7dfa4c34065a9e23047526aa355a4acac2e72c51/Portraits-Image-Isabbela-low.jpg" data-mid="236994901" border="0" data-no-zoom="true" data-icon-mode alt="&copy; Drawing by Isabella Synek-Herd, 2024" data-caption="© Drawing by Isabella Synek-Herd, 2024" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/81adc18224a6aaf85456e2ca7dfa4c34065a9e23047526aa355a4acac2e72c51/Portraits-Image-Isabbela-low.jpg" /> The exhibition explores the work of the architect MJ Long as revealed through a doll’s house she made in the late 1970s for her young daughter, Sal. This doll’s house offers an important yet unusual perspective on Long’s exceptional academic and professional life, during which she constantly negotiated the various labels that were applied to her – architect, mother, teacher, immigrant, (professional) partner, wife, woman – whether she identified with them or not. MJ Long built Sal’s doll’s house on the floor of the living room in the home she shared with her husband and business partner Colin St John Wilson. Together they codesigned the British Library in London and, during a particularly fraught stage in the process, she chose to devote her limited free time to the painstaking construction of this structure, incorporating aspects of her childhood, academic interests and personal life to create this large timber object whose style is distinct from anything she made in practice. Here, we use the doll’s house and its contents as a portal through which to examine Long’s different spaces of work and leisure. The exhibition presents photography, the voices of friends, family and colleagues, and contemporary reconstructions of lost work alongside original material from the RIBA Archives. This allows us to delve into the context, references and influences that shaped Long’s practice. Perhaps the doll’s House, and the gendered complexities of family life and domesticity that it represents, can be read as an invitation to reconsider what constitutes work. MJ Long (1930–2018) Mary Jane Long was born in Summit, New Jersey in 1939. She studied architecture at Yale School of Architecture, where she met Colin St John (Sandy) Wilson. She moved to the UK in 1965 to join his architecture practice and was principal architect partner during the 30-year creation of the British Library. She married Wilson in 1972. Long independently designed studios for artists including Peter Blake, RB Kitaj and Frank Auerbach, and published a book called Artists’ Studios in 2009 about the 14 studios she designed. She also worked on museums and galleries including the Jewish Museum in London and the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, in partnership with Rolfe Kentish, and created an extension to Pallant House Gallery in Chichester with Wilson. MJ Long was a lecturer at Yale for over 40 years. She died in September 2018. Credits Curated by Elena Palacios Carral Exhibition Design: Forms of Living (Elena Palacios Carral with Isabella Synek Herd) Doll’s House Photography: Yushi Li Doll’s House Fabrication and Restoration: Isabella Synek Herd Graphic Design: AA Communications Studio Exhibition Realisation: AA Public Programme (Manijeh Verghese and Harriet Jennings) Exhibition Build: Commissioned by You and AA Facilities Video and Sound: AA Audio Visual Special Thanks to: AA Archives, British Library, Juliet Babinsky,&nbsp; Barbara Campbell-Lange, María Elena Carral, Michael Franke, Rolfe Kentish, Jon Lopez, Mario Palacios, RIBA (Lauren Alderton, Catriona Cornelius, Charles Hind, Lisa Nash, Alix Robinson), Josie Sommer, Sal Wilson. <img width="3570" height="5348" width_o="3570" height_o="5348" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/225557dda3371157b76e4287240099e00b9a47fc1fafe38d8f36e37ac147443e/1DSC_1721_.jpg" data-mid="237320052" border="0" alt="Photograph by Isabella Synek-Herd, 2023" data-caption="Photograph by Isabella Synek-Herd, 2023" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/225557dda3371157b76e4287240099e00b9a47fc1fafe38d8f36e37ac147443e/1DSC_1721_.jpg" /> <img width="7952" height="5302" width_o="7952" height_o="5302" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2a6d53dfb18790c0003a205595be75fef85b21af2bf8757360b0a2fc869dcc46/Yushi.jpg" data-mid="151415505" border="0" alt="&copy; Photograph by Yushi Li, 2022" data-caption="© Photograph by Yushi Li, 2022" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2a6d53dfb18790c0003a205595be75fef85b21af2bf8757360b0a2fc869dcc46/Yushi.jpg" /> <img width="7952" height="5302" width_o="7952" height_o="5302" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a190d57560fa569340aab0b095a8721e99a9ecb4a0f994a7e9ffae2d1e82a0de/yushi2.jpg" data-mid="151415507" border="0" alt="&copy; Photograph by Yushi Li, 2022" data-caption="© Photograph by Yushi Li, 2022" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a190d57560fa569340aab0b095a8721e99a9ecb4a0f994a7e9ffae2d1e82a0de/yushi2.jpg" /> <img width="2700" height="3600" width_o="2700" height_o="3600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/be9bb5fc6318f5715ece53a9ca30d397cf7f8dad18e27ab4e3544852362e3067/AA_PAOP_41.jpg" data-mid="204605791" border="0" data-icon-mode alt="Photograph by Thomas Adank, 2023" data-caption="Photograph by Thomas Adank, 2023" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/be9bb5fc6318f5715ece53a9ca30d397cf7f8dad18e27ab4e3544852362e3067/AA_PAOP_41.jpg" /> <img width="3600" height="2700" width_o="3600" height_o="2700" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3112a1d8f48bc9f43923c317da7255c0181af9615f72bc1b2c87254438a605ae/AA_PAOP_07.jpg" data-mid="204605767" border="0" alt="Photograph by Thomas Adank, 2023" data-caption="Photograph by Thomas Adank, 2023" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3112a1d8f48bc9f43923c317da7255c0181af9615f72bc1b2c87254438a605ae/AA_PAOP_07.jpg" /> <img width="3600" height="2700" width_o="3600" height_o="2700" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d63fb4896b1b0f03a9e650b0d8f12f9a8550c9f2dac5422649bf14981dfd5f0b/AA_PAOP_05.jpg" data-mid="204605764" border="0" alt="Photograph by Thomas Adank, 2023" data-caption="Photograph by Thomas Adank, 2023" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d63fb4896b1b0f03a9e650b0d8f12f9a8550c9f2dac5422649bf14981dfd5f0b/AA_PAOP_05.jpg" /> <img width="3600" height="2700" width_o="3600" height_o="2700" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/159c13c331db3efbef616953317accaecb37daa039eb4eb5eb5efe012f8368b9/AA_PAOP_21.jpg" data-mid="204605742" border="0" alt="Photograph by Thomas Adank, 2023" data-caption="Photograph by Thomas Adank, 2023" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/159c13c331db3efbef616953317accaecb37daa039eb4eb5eb5efe012f8368b9/AA_PAOP_21.jpg" /> <img width="3508" height="4961" width_o="3508" height_o="4961" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b1ff8e78ded222d5126aaa865cb5556adc2da432e46c1d4b5ee82e2d69ea8c6c/Colour.png" data-mid="237941533" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b1ff8e78ded222d5126aaa865cb5556adc2da432e46c1d4b5ee82e2d69ea8c6c/Colour.png" /> <img width="3508" height="4961" width_o="3508" height_o="4961" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9960560bafa8d5b5064e0c1198d709d2ed4fb9d9863538a88904bf4ed2275265/Combined-Fragments-Axos-2.png" data-mid="237941535" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9960560bafa8d5b5064e0c1198d709d2ed4fb9d9863538a88904bf4ed2275265/Combined-Fragments-Axos-2.png" /> Portraits of a Practice was awarded the RIBA Research Funding Grant 2022.&nbsp;Photographs of the exhibition by Thomas Adank https://formsofliving.com/Eco-House-Pavillion Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:45:22 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/Eco-House-Pavillion Eco House Pavilion: The Thick of ItDesign Competition | Shortlisted | 2022-2023 | OMMX + Forms of Living + Sal Wilson <img width="4961" height="3508" width_o="4961" height_o="3508" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/81feb618671ef3ebf65a3376195ac9bf956c9663c64c192e3521f9f0e7ca586d/2211-LFAECO_EPC_Final.jpg" data-mid="168544763" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/81feb618671ef3ebf65a3376195ac9bf956c9663c64c192e3521f9f0e7ca586d/2211-LFAECO_EPC_Final.jpg" /> This submission was made on behalf of a collaboration between OMMX, Forms of Living and Sal Wilson, building on professional and academic relationships established over the past decade.&nbsp;The Thick of It consolidates the team’s interest in housing typology throughout history; the importance of rethinking the range and distribution of domestic uses in cities; and an urge to reconsider the value of existing building stock and construction techniques for material an social sustainability. We reject the idea that any one ideal home, prototype, technology, or standard can satisfy the need for sustainable living and building in the long-term future. On the contrary, we propose a study of fragments – of the city, of the house, and of walls – combine to provide a few examples of innumerable potential configurations. Our physical essay is a critique on current metrics for housing targets, and the standardised spaces that housing types are reduced to. More importantly, we propose a reflection on the inherent relationship between domestic provision and the wider social make-up of the existing city. Our focus is on thickness – an exploration of the wall as a zone that negotiates use, while looking closely at what constitutes material resourcefulness in the search for thermal comfort, enclosure, amenity, porosity, proximity, or exchange. How and when to articulate thickness is central to our investigation. For example, one of the pavilion fragments considers thermal mass in heavyweight construction and its capacity to store and release heat throughout day and night, as a strategy that reflects on future predictions of more extreme temperature fluctuation in the UK. The different fragments of the pavilion are expected to establish a discourse with each other. Another piece may highlight the effectiveness of insulation in more temperate climates, but also its limitations which result in the need for combining with other technologies that facilitate the movement of air or protection from solar gain. We want to encourage other conversations about the value and pertinence of building technologies as combined with one another, referring for example, to ever-slimming walls that translate to more saleable areas, but which render other environmental future costs and significant social implications. Similarly, we advocate for the thorough study of existing buildings that would benefit from an increased wall thickness articulated by layering, to create warm spaces in the manner of cavity walls, or additional amenity space that can shelter existing envelopes.The competition was oranised by the London Festival of Architecture and the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects.&nbsp; <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fb20b4b6a3b9a07542f5245902ca2a6d26cce0e214493acd62f49119eba8b652/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.026.jpeg" data-mid="168879339" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fb20b4b6a3b9a07542f5245902ca2a6d26cce0e214493acd62f49119eba8b652/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.026.jpeg" /> We proposed a low-tech assembly process for all the pavilion wall fragments, whereby small blocks are stacked and tied to create larger blocks that will form the main volumes, as illustrated. Our intention is to eliminate the use of glue/mortar/chemical bonding, favouring temporary fixings in order to facilitate the future dismantling of construction elements. <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/60995ce630f642fbe34ccf815d6ca1ccc9311137123c7999d9670e521c28a341/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.028.jpeg" data-mid="168879328" border="0" alt="Manufacture: Materials to construct the pavilion are to be sourced or produced as locally as possible." data-caption="Manufacture: Materials to construct the pavilion are to be sourced or produced as locally as possible." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/60995ce630f642fbe34ccf815d6ca1ccc9311137123c7999d9670e521c28a341/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.028.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b8a0d801dcd4577b7e94147b10fdeb86ea7817d7683fc3c4bb515566b5b71a7f/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.029.jpeg" data-mid="168879329" border="0" alt="Transport: Local sourcing and manufacture allows for low carbon transportation" data-caption="Transport: Local sourcing and manufacture allows for low carbon transportation" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b8a0d801dcd4577b7e94147b10fdeb86ea7817d7683fc3c4bb515566b5b71a7f/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.029.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5525936275b59740d1d3839d6964fd7e1a1de64db819c452f37635e0fe6ebfb8/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.030.jpeg" data-mid="168879330" border="0" alt="Stacking and tying: Pavilion modules can be assembled on or off site depending on constraints, in a method that eliminates chemical and adhesive connections" data-caption="Stacking and tying: Pavilion modules can be assembled on or off site depending on constraints, in a method that eliminates chemical and adhesive connections" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5525936275b59740d1d3839d6964fd7e1a1de64db819c452f37635e0fe6ebfb8/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.030.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/25fa6f050400eb35171ad4a7359561351a67ea41c7800ddbb40a94124bb3aace/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.031.jpeg" data-mid="168879331" border="0" alt="Assembly: Pavilion modules assembled and position with small mechanical equipment. On site operations should be safe and discreet" data-caption="Assembly: Pavilion modules assembled and position with small mechanical equipment. On site operations should be safe and discreet" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/25fa6f050400eb35171ad4a7359561351a67ea41c7800ddbb40a94124bb3aace/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.031.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9b209cea7083631f200b739dc5ad1ac44447cea756e06390cc6064238f3ae5cd/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.032.jpeg" data-mid="168879332" border="0" alt="In Use: The proposal invites passive and active engagement by passing and dwelling visitors alike." data-caption="In Use: The proposal invites passive and active engagement by passing and dwelling visitors alike." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9b209cea7083631f200b739dc5ad1ac44447cea756e06390cc6064238f3ae5cd/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.032.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b8b7e064957c3293bf05852fedc79eff5644ca1133f548a8f08c86c68ba715b5/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.033.jpeg" data-mid="168879333" border="0" alt="Events and programme: The open nature of the pavilion is designed to accommodate a variety of groupings, from talks to workshops. Lightweight tensile roof structures are envisaged to provide shelter from the elements." data-caption="Events and programme: The open nature of the pavilion is designed to accommodate a variety of groupings, from talks to workshops. Lightweight tensile roof structures are envisaged to provide shelter from the elements." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b8b7e064957c3293bf05852fedc79eff5644ca1133f548a8f08c86c68ba715b5/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.033.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/648ef3e7fcda57199aeb8964a773c983f72fc67dcceee64674e411709c322348/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.034.jpeg" data-mid="168879334" border="0" alt="Maintenance: The proposal is designed to be as low maintenance as possible. It is robust enough to be left &lsquo;unlocked&rsquo; with no significant changes to the existing supervision on the square" data-caption="Maintenance: The proposal is designed to be as low maintenance as possible. It is robust enough to be left ‘unlocked’ with no significant changes to the existing supervision on the square" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/648ef3e7fcda57199aeb8964a773c983f72fc67dcceee64674e411709c322348/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.034.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d75c3eb9a684acdd51e20d2f398fc2813e6a9d3e03e1cba85024bc79b0f6fade/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.035.jpeg" data-mid="168879335" border="0" alt="Disassembly: The modules can be separated in the same manner that they were bought together, with relatively little skill and effort required." data-caption="Disassembly: The modules can be separated in the same manner that they were bought together, with relatively little skill and effort required." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d75c3eb9a684acdd51e20d2f398fc2813e6a9d3e03e1cba85024bc79b0f6fade/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.035.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c7546be29be5f50a3f020e69cb7a60c5fa22b3232f96c0ad5a1d42c466a968ad/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.036.jpeg" data-mid="168879336" border="0" alt="Distribution: Materials can re-enter the construction chain or cycle, from small to big." data-caption="Distribution: Materials can re-enter the construction chain or cycle, from small to big." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c7546be29be5f50a3f020e69cb7a60c5fa22b3232f96c0ad5a1d42c466a968ad/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.036.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1152" width_o="2048" height_o="1152" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e3c86af435d699171199ccd41c2f8a770ae60a8edb3c4e890f37966fe77cb885/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.037.jpeg" data-mid="168879337" border="0" alt="Afterlife: The materials and parts can find future beneficial use in new homes and places." data-caption="Afterlife: The materials and parts can find future beneficial use in new homes and places." src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e3c86af435d699171199ccd41c2f8a770ae60a8edb3c4e890f37966fe77cb885/OMMX---Forms-of-Living---Sal-Wilson---Stage-2-Pres.037.jpeg" /> The pavilion is constituted by 5 fragments, each of which represents an interpretation of a thickened wall. The fragments address a spatial condition in the home, pairing it alongside specific scenes of the larger urban landscape. The proposed design and final construction is specific to each fragment, but they all share the same material elements and method of assembly. https://formsofliving.com/Studio-House-1 Sat, 27 Aug 2022 08:49:47 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/Studio-House-1 Studio/House Design Project | Built Private | Mexico City | 2010<img width="5906" height="5906" width_o="5906" height_o="5906" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5dd089f07cdd764e80eae1964ae7f7aa402a03bc763a786f957385ef019fb94c/Objects.jpeg" data-mid="151414198" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5dd089f07cdd764e80eae1964ae7f7aa402a03bc763a786f957385ef019fb94c/Objects.jpeg" /> <img width="3508" height="2480" width_o="3508" height_o="2480" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f368dd8d1e418c954cbd1502bf451503eee189c29a74d7552db702c7ba0d13ee/Demolition.jpg" data-mid="237066181" border="0" alt="Demolition" data-caption="Demolition" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f368dd8d1e418c954cbd1502bf451503eee189c29a74d7552db702c7ba0d13ee/Demolition.jpg" /> <img width="3508" height="2480" width_o="3508" height_o="2480" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2d71aa66054d1abfe11ef4a31c2464e0b880a0712ce1c7b87b44d9c8d25d8fe5/Existing.jpg" data-mid="237066177" border="0" alt="Existing" data-caption="Existing" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2d71aa66054d1abfe11ef4a31c2464e0b880a0712ce1c7b87b44d9c8d25d8fe5/Existing.jpg" /> <img width="3508" height="2480" width_o="3508" height_o="2480" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/569276da91208ea87a49bf424d4477d5b5dc3723c80229cc2467564dcaa0f016/Additions.jpg" data-mid="237066182" border="0" alt="Additions" data-caption="Additions" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/569276da91208ea87a49bf424d4477d5b5dc3723c80229cc2467564dcaa0f016/Additions.jpg" /> <img width="3508" height="2480" width_o="3508" height_o="2480" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2fcad911e4ddd7fb6e286a60f261f576013476f027d698893f187d5ed8f264b8/Proposal.jpg" data-mid="237066183" border="0" alt="Proposed" data-caption="Proposed" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2fcad911e4ddd7fb6e286a60f261f576013476f027d698893f187d5ed8f264b8/Proposal.jpg" /> <img width="3792" height="2844" width_o="3792" height_o="2844" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e64caf886311ec4fe2902f8079e326d6e802d22bfb487163e0644fd5c70baa79/fotos-varias-226_copy.jpg" data-mid="151414201" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e64caf886311ec4fe2902f8079e326d6e802d22bfb487163e0644fd5c70baa79/fotos-varias-226_copy.jpg" /> <img width="2763" height="4145" width_o="2763" height_o="4145" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/300cf430f4d9017dd78540dbc5ca3b8c8e4ccd738ff290486289ad131b9a6517/MPK_0982jpeg-full-res.jpg" data-mid="237295155" border="0" alt="&copy; Alfonso Merchand, 2025" data-caption="© Alfonso Merchand, 2025" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/300cf430f4d9017dd78540dbc5ca3b8c8e4ccd738ff290486289ad131b9a6517/MPK_0982jpeg-full-res.jpg" /> <img width="7360" height="4912" width_o="7360" height_o="4912" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7b6bd0ac79f2b732a193e461fce7db3ebb32bd3ec0efb069eb9d3d75a0fdb628/MPK_0978jpeg-full-res.jpg" data-mid="237295166" border="0" alt="&copy; Alfonso Merchand, 2025" data-caption="© Alfonso Merchand, 2025" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7b6bd0ac79f2b732a193e461fce7db3ebb32bd3ec0efb069eb9d3d75a0fdb628/MPK_0978jpeg-full-res.jpg" /> <img width="7360" height="4912" width_o="7360" height_o="4912" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8f5a27977245aa3d03909dc27600809105e141a54546837f4655ebc0217095fe/MPK_0955jpeg-full-res.jpg" data-mid="237295177" border="0" alt="&copy; Alfonso Merchand, 2025" data-caption="© Alfonso Merchand, 2025" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8f5a27977245aa3d03909dc27600809105e141a54546837f4655ebc0217095fe/MPK_0955jpeg-full-res.jpg" /> <img width="7360" height="4912" width_o="7360" height_o="4912" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/537b034fae2e18b8f7c9f4e2b42a76df41e0917da7e5c0547ded1298b09e765d/MPK_0951jpeg-full-res.jpg" data-mid="237295181" border="0" alt="&copy; Alfonso Merchand, 2025" data-caption="© Alfonso Merchand, 2025" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/537b034fae2e18b8f7c9f4e2b42a76df41e0917da7e5c0547ded1298b09e765d/MPK_0951jpeg-full-res.jpg" /> House and studio for the Mexican artist Mario Palacios Kaim. Mexico City. https://formsofliving.com/Studioification-1 Sat, 27 Aug 2022 08:13:28 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/Studioification-1 The Studioification of The Home:The Freelance Artist’s Studio in Paris, New York and San Francisco from 1600 to the presentResearch Project | Elena Palacios Carral | 2017 - 2021 <img width="7638" height="2910" width_o="7638" height_o="2910" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ed4865247c0387edca0ad2509be3a1f21e4ca10fe29d8df86f3b2ee1d6109c36/Grande-Galerie.jpg" data-mid="151413844" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ed4865247c0387edca0ad2509be3a1f21e4ca10fe29d8df86f3b2ee1d6109c36/Grande-Galerie.jpg" /> Elena recently submitted a PhD thesis investigating the development of freelance artists’ studios in Paris, New York, and San Francisco, focusing on the precarious artist to expose the studio not as a neutral space for making art, but as a politically charged space—which is controlled by agents with power and access to money, such as the State and Real Estate—an overlooked aspect in standard histories of artists’ studios. Artists’ working processes are frequently romanticised, in omitting the question of labour conditions and the historically concrete political economy of cultural production. While most studio histories celebrate the idea of the solitary artist, Elena’s thesis exposes how art production is sustained and materially enabled through solidarity and collective work. To this end, her research frequently draws upon interviews and conversations with the artists themselves. Elena’s understanding of the artist’s studio as a post-domestic type of space has informed a larger concern about present day housing explored in the design studios we teach at various UK institutions and informing a feminist approach to the design briefs drawn up by our teaching partners and us. Our courses seek to challenge the hierarchies of domestic space by invoking collectivised practices of cultural production. <img width="4000" height="4000" width_o="4000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/857b6de9959a9882b41ca14232250a9e7b537e0f5cef38a2f5b654c9552ba9b4/DSCF0895.JPG" data-mid="151413934" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/857b6de9959a9882b41ca14232250a9e7b537e0f5cef38a2f5b654c9552ba9b4/DSCF0895.JPG" /> <img width="3024" height="3024" width_o="3024" height_o="3024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e9c5849c66160ea42a2c70f9cfb67dda6fa3eb24a9272da0bdbc50182a2f0863/PhD.jpg" data-mid="151413933" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e9c5849c66160ea42a2c70f9cfb67dda6fa3eb24a9272da0bdbc50182a2f0863/PhD.jpg" /> PhD, Architectural Association With the support of FONCA-CONACYT Estudios en el Extranjero https://formsofliving.com/Vecindad Fri, 26 Aug 2022 17:25:35 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/Vecindad Vecindad: Redistribution of Domestic Space in Mexico City 1519-2020 Research Project | Lola Lozano Lara | 2019 - ongoing <img width="4000" height="4000" width_o="4000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fc290678989042ec23ba270cc1bcc716c8f57744569b60c75f8a99181ff15c10/DSCF1217-e_Ecuador107.jpg" data-mid="237695495" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fc290678989042ec23ba270cc1bcc716c8f57744569b60c75f8a99181ff15c10/DSCF1217-e_Ecuador107.jpg" /> Departing from the ambivalence inherent in the term vecindad, this thesis argues that the study of a domestic architectural typology can become a framework through which a city’s history and make-up may be read. Vecindad is best translated as ‘neighbourhood’ and is cognate with vecino, which means both ‘neighbour’ and ‘nearby,’ thus alluding to proximity, a relationship of close distance. Furthermore, a vecindad in Mexico is a building typology that groups households around a central street or courtyard. As such, this thesis investigates the history of domestic space and its redistribution through the popular yet disappearing vecindades of the city centre, characterised by groups that share a common domesticity. The notion of vicinity is central to the thesis’s argument, as observed within the historic and legislative context of housing in Mexico City from the pre-colonial period up to the present day. The thesis acknowledges an indigenous Mexican tradition of household collectivity and city-making that endured and actively informed centuries of Spanish colonialism and later independent political reform.The investigation traces the history of Mexico City through the exploration of three distinct urban and architectural categories and their development over time: the grid, the urban block and the house. Each category finds a dialectic counterpart within indigenous Mesoamerican ideologies embodied in Nahua cultures: the altepetl, tlaxilacalli and calli. Their study within the context of colonial and later republican Mexico City offers an alternative reading of how the city was inhabited from the outset and the ensuing housing legislation and instrumental reforms that followed. The thesis also follows the city inhabitants’ changing and varying identities, paying close attention to how these inform the redistribution of their space and use of housing (and services) as a result of necessity rather than design. The study responds to a pressing need to investigate and construct alternative forms of housing that can respond to current needs that are not satisfied by existing industrial models. With the support of FONCA-CONACYT Estudios en el Extranjero https://formsofliving.com/New-Towns-1 Fri, 26 Aug 2022 17:25:37 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/New-Towns-1 New Towns New Tenures Research and Education | 2020 - ongoing <img width="5639" height="3988" width_o="5639" height_o="3988" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f1a41c17747a69da8d708e4c0de5bd64c821a2de05010883e879e2d81e103719/Isabella-Portfolio-draft_Page_04.jpg" data-mid="236995736" border="0" alt="&copy; Isabella Synek-Herd, Everything But The Kitchen Sink(2022-2023)" data-caption="© Isabella Synek-Herd, Everything But The Kitchen Sink(2022-2023)" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f1a41c17747a69da8d708e4c0de5bd64c821a2de05010883e879e2d81e103719/Isabella-Portfolio-draft_Page_04.jpg" /> Our focus on new towns comes from an interest in studying the relationship between domesticity and housing within a broader territory, and the impact of policy on the design of housing. This is underpinned by an ambition to unravel how the organisation of domestic activities and social relations are currently designated, and how they could be reimagined. This is part of a larger investigation that we continue to carry out in Europe, the US and Mexico through various case studies that problematise the commodification and privatisation of domestic activities as expressed in the development of specific housing typologies that facilitate real estate appropriation, for example, the ‘studio-flat’ or the single-family house. Since 2020, at Oxford Brookes, Kingston University, and the University of Cambridge, our teaching design studio has been sited in the UK’s New Towns, built under the New Towns Act of 1946, as sites for exploring forms of living that move beyond the single-family house. We have examined Harlow (2020–2021), Basildon (2022–2023), Stevenage (2023–2024), and Milton Keynes (2024–2025). This work has addressed one of the oldest yet most urgent challenges of architecture: the design of housing. It has explored the forms of life housing projects shape, their inherent hierarchies and gender relations, and the places in which they unfold. Crucially, throughout these years, the studio has investigated models of tenure that liberate residents from the fallible promise of the private house owned in perpetuity. Instead of reinforcing the idea of the Englishman’s castle, the studio has considered groups of people and building typologies absent from mainstream planning policies. The housing question lies at the heart of society. While it provides security and freedom for some, it also fuels inequality, raises living costs, and places extraordinary pressures on environments both global and local. In politics and real estate, the common response is relentless new developments, typically on greenfield sites, characterised by atomised, self-contained, single-family units. Working with existing buildings, reuse and retrofit have been central to our briefs, serving as tools and practices through which to propose shared forms of domesticity. We are grateful to those who have continuously supported the studio through talks, seminars, and workshops, including Owen Jarvis from the Co-Housing Network, Sal Wilson from HEAL, Shumi Bose, Ioanna Piniara, Jon Lopez from OMMX, Emily Priest at Oxford Brookes in 2019, and Lorenzo Zandri and Yushi Li for their photographs of the students’ models. Teaching The University of Cambridge <img width="4928" height="3264" width_o="4928" height_o="3264" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/eec85f0816d68d1a768f9bf75918dcf53cf44bfe9e7be7810725910a719d84cc/R0010748-Edit.jpg" data-mid="236996702" border="0" alt="&copy; Faye Blackshaw (2024-2025)" data-caption="© Faye Blackshaw (2024-2025)" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/eec85f0816d68d1a768f9bf75918dcf53cf44bfe9e7be7810725910a719d84cc/R0010748-Edit.jpg" /> 2024-2025 The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle The Master’s House Site: Milton Keynes New Town Taught by: Lola Lozano Lara, Elena Palacios Carral, Daniel Marmot (Artefact) Students: Luca Batista Dias e Godoy Beltrame, Jessica Bendelow, Jyotsni Bhattacharyya, Faye Blackshaw,&nbsp;Thomas Bridges, Cristina&nbsp;De la Joya Peletier, Samira Elbahja, Elliot Hamilton-Croft, Holly&nbsp;McNicoll,&nbsp;Lara Peralta,&nbsp;Maggie Porter, Katerina Reguretska,&nbsp;Albi Rix, Nadina Solovjova,&nbsp;Reuben Tomlin,&nbsp;Nyahalo Tucker,&nbsp;Vanessa Tung. <img width="2826" height="3719" width_o="2826" height_o="3719" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/551d9bd9dbe4736ce7726fe1134119e6555835c73366526fcaf5e9a933fe67a3/es931_stewart_emma_Eterm_portfolio-71.jpg" data-mid="236996880" border="0" alt="&copy; Emma Stewart (2023-2024) Photo by Yushi Li" data-caption="© Emma Stewart (2023-2024) Photo by Yushi Li" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/551d9bd9dbe4736ce7726fe1134119e6555835c73366526fcaf5e9a933fe67a3/es931_stewart_emma_Eterm_portfolio-71.jpg" /> 2023-2024The Practice of Everyday Life Site: Stevenage New Town BA Studio 3.4 Taught by: Lola Lozano Lara, Elena Palacios Carral, Sam Nelson (Type) Students: <img width="7952" height="5304" width_o="7952" height_o="5304" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0dc74ab1e1fd93ca691d21390ea8b79ffde3c0639c22433725bba95e42ef37de/P10_5_DSC00023-Edit.jpg" data-mid="236996677" border="0" alt="&copy; Freya Dougan, Beyond Insulation (2022-2023). Photo by Yushi Li" data-caption="© Freya Dougan, Beyond Insulation (2022-2023). Photo by Yushi Li" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0dc74ab1e1fd93ca691d21390ea8b79ffde3c0639c22433725bba95e42ef37de/P10_5_DSC00023-Edit.jpg" /> 2022-2023 Magic, Party, Place Site: Basildon New TownBA Studio 3.4 Taught by: Lola Lozano Lara, Elena Palacios Carral, Sam Nelson (Type) Students: Freya Dougan, Isabella Synek-Herd <img width="7087" height="9449" width_o="7087" height_o="9449" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ff9228dc572cfe8603af60d3485ae716774e96fae46b0dfde3cb76f851169d27/Studio-3.4---Dept-Architecture-of-Cambridge---LOW_Lorenzo-Zandri--2022-50.jpg" data-mid="238487080" border="0" alt="&copy; Lorenzo Zandri, 2022" data-caption="© Lorenzo Zandri, 2022" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ff9228dc572cfe8603af60d3485ae716774e96fae46b0dfde3cb76f851169d27/Studio-3.4---Dept-Architecture-of-Cambridge---LOW_Lorenzo-Zandri--2022-50.jpg" /> 2021-2022 Never Let Me Down Again Site: Harlow New Town BA Studio 3.4&nbsp; Taught by: Lola Lozano Lara, Elena Palacios Carral, Sam Nelson&nbsp; (Type)Students: Miriam Agiru, Hannah Back, Juliet Babinsky, George Birch, Alex Bramley, Mary Holmes,&nbsp;Bence Lipcsei,&nbsp;Precious Ndukuba,&nbsp;Sarah Portsmouth,&nbsp;Lalia Saidy Khan,&nbsp;Sang Wee.Guests/Collaborators: Shumi Bose, Ives Brown, Barbara Campbell-Lange, Oliver Cooke, David Devine, Hunter Doyle, Rory Gardiner, Theodora Giovanazzi, Jane Hall, Moira Jones, Jon Lopez, George Massoud, Maria Rebecca Plaza, Ioanna Piniara, Davide Sacconi, Lorenzo Zandri. Kingston University2021-2022Never Let Me Down AgainSite: Harlow New TownBA Studio 2.1Taught by: Lola Lozano Lara, Elena Palacios Carral2020-2021UprootedSite: Stevenage New TownBA Studio 2.1Taught by: Lola Lozano Lara, Elena Palacios CarralOxford Brookes University2020-2021 The Approaching Obsolescence of Domesticity Site: Various New Towns in the UK MArchD DS7Taught by: Lola Lozano Lara, Elena Palacios Carral and Sam Nelson Technical Tutor: Emily Priest https://formsofliving.com/Domestic-Condition Sat, 27 Aug 2022 17:03:27 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/Domestic-Condition Domestic Condition Research Project | 2018-2020 <img width="2283" height="2283" width_o="2283" height_o="2283" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d177eda4c1a82539974594bc567843ccd47a0fb189930d88f8dfa59dcaf110dd/Dora.jpg" data-mid="151431628" border="0" alt="&copy; Theodora Paschali" data-caption="© Theodora Paschali" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d177eda4c1a82539974594bc567843ccd47a0fb189930d88f8dfa59dcaf110dd/Dora.jpg" /> TeachingOxford Brookes University2019-2020 Domestic Premise Site: London MArchD DS7Taught by: Lola Lozano Lara, Elena Palacios Carral Techincal Tutor: George Massoud2018-2019Domestic ConditionSite: ParisMArchD DS7Taught by: Lola Lozano Lara, Elena Palacios CarralTechincal Tutor: George Massoud https://formsofliving.com/Sideways Sat, 27 Aug 2022 16:21:33 +0000 formsofliving.com https://formsofliving.com/Sideways Sideways Research Project | in collaboration with OMMX | 2020 Our image compares, compresses and overlays two ideas about form, both of which are concerned with how the gaze of a visitor serves to frame an experience of a place.The Albers, through their multitude of photographic studies and depictions of pre-Hispanic architecture, most often concentrated their focus on the shapes, patterns and volumes of monuments. In doing so, people are cropped out, compositions are foreshortened, and relationships between buildings and landscape are abstracted. The attempt to present buildings as pure forms causes dislocation, and it excludes the life and inhabitation that these places would have or could contain. The routine and ritual that would inform and shape the building is rendered illegible, perpetuating a practice where form is dissociated from culture, habit and tradition.Yet, the long-term future of such monuments is heavily reliant on the gaze of a new visitor, the tourist, and we are interested in the objects, artefacts, and traces that might be associated with the necessary commerce and management that fills such sites today. The image confronts this by offering another framing, that of the site’s present-day condition. By extending its margins to include non-architectural forms that did not belong in the original photograph, we give representation to the daily use and maintenance of the building and the space that surrounds it. The signage, safety netting, rubbish bins and those selling souvenirs at the foot of the pyramid all collate to reveal the realities of contemporary life.Comissioned by Raul Montesinos and Sebastian Amtmann, as part of Master in Advanced Architectural Projects MPAA in the ETSAM in Madrid <img width="3508" height="4291" width_o="3508" height_o="4291" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f6db861e23b86cf459e306299174ce5595b7d69431cf10b5e72b346d22922181/OMMX_FOL.jpg" data-mid="151429443" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f6db861e23b86cf459e306299174ce5595b7d69431cf10b5e72b346d22922181/OMMX_FOL.jpg" /> <img width="3508" height="4291" width_o="3508" height_o="4291" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c28a819608bfb033d1939cf9230eafe7f66ac85fa8423b9fe5fdcddb0bcaa1b1/OMMX_FOL_original.jpg" data-mid="151429442" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c28a819608bfb033d1939cf9230eafe7f66ac85fa8423b9fe5fdcddb0bcaa1b1/OMMX_FOL_original.jpg" />