Some may perceive "Cristóbal Balenciaga", currently streaming on Disney+, as one of the latest series about a fashion designer, just another story solely appealing to fashion enthusiasts. Yet architects could learn a lesson or two from this series by Lourdes Iglesias, Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga.
The influence of a Balenciaga gown transcends indeed fashion and can inspire architectural designs, as proved by Dublin-based architects O'Donnell and Tuomey, who moved from the Spanish designer to get the inspiration for the V&A East Museum, currently being built in Queen Elizabeth Park, Stratford, east London.
Announced in 2018, the building forms part of the Mayor of London’s East Bank project, a £1.1 billion project for London, conceived post-Olympics, in 2013, as a sort of culture and education hub. The project also includes Sadler's Wells East, an eastern outpost for the iconic London dance venue, and a new home for the London College of Fashion, uniting the college's six sites into one.
Scheduled to open next year, V&A East is a collaborative effort between the V&A and the Smithsonian Institute, offering innovative exhibitions and displays and housing the museum's Collection and Research Centre, replacing the V&A archive at Blythe House in west London, that will be sold off.
Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey's design journey started from the painting "Woman Writing a Letter, with her Maid" by Johannes Vermeer. The architects saw it during a visit to the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin: fascinated by the representation of the sleeves in the image, they started imagining the spaces created between the body and the fabric.
Then, in 2017, they visited the V&A's "Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion" exhibition, and their ideas developed further. The designer's use of the Japanese concept of "Ma", or "the space in between" resonated with the architects. His tailoring provided indeed a sculptural sense of space between the body and the enclosing fabric; framing rather than restricting the figure.
This concept was strengthened by one of the items studied in the show, an X-ray by Nick Veasey showing the complex construction underneath Cristóbal Balenciaga's Silk Taffeta Evening Dress, from the boning to the face fabric, revealing the space between the body and the final form. The image made the architects realize that the structure supported the effortless-looking garment, a technique the couturier was famous for.
Fascinated by this concept O'Donnell and Tuomey conceived the building of the V&A East as if it were swathed in layers, like a dress.
The outer skin of the new V&A building acts therefore as a three-dimensional "folded dress", lending the museum a distinctive form and striking identity. The distinctive façade of the building will be made in pre-cast concrete, profiled to create a play of shadows across the elevations. The angular outer skin appears different from various approaches and viewpoints. The dress concept for the structure will help revolutionizing the way visitor experience the museum collection.
In a departure from traditional museum displays, V&A East plans to showcase stored objects in dynamic 360-degree viewing spaces, offering visitors unprecedented access to treasures like Frank Lloyd Wright's plywood-paneled 1930s office for Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J.Kaufmann, the 15th century marquetry ceiling from the now-destroyed Altamira Palace near Toledo, Spain, and the 15-metre wide theatrical backcloth designed by Natalia Goncharova for the 1926 Ballets Russes London production of Stravinsky's "Firebird".
In a nutshell, the building will act like a giant cabinet of curiosities, even though it is not inspired by a static piece of furniture, but by a dynamic yet structured garment.
In essence, O'Donnell and Tuomey's architectural interpretation of Balenciaga's ethos unveils a fusion of fashion and spatial design, challenging perceptions and enriching cultural experiences. So, when the next fashion biopic or series is released, do not dismiss it and label it as superficial entertainment for fashionistas: there may indeed be more in it than just nice frocks, and it may even beckon architects to explore the intersection of style and structure.
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