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A financial journalist and art provocateur was interested in collaborating in an architectural event. We invited him to join us in developing a small site in Highbury, North London.

 

We had visited modern buildings in Japan which were influenced by the machiya, the traditional Kyoto city-houses. Venus addresses the street in a similar way, being very private and defensive at street level but opening up at higher levels to let in light and permit views.

 

We wanted a naturally weathered material, with an appearance that would continue to evolve. The model of the proposed building was conceived as a tiny paperweight of mottled copper on a heavy wooden base, like a balcony corner post of the Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto. In the building itself, above the solid base of recycled bricks, the envelope is a well-insulated timber frame clad in post-patinated copper.

 

We invited two artists to become embroiled in the project. Matt Hale developed a connection between our architectural themes and his previous work on sustainability and liquid sculptures. He created a 'stained' window of glass tubes filled with coloured domestic fluids (shampoo, detergent etc.) Frank Watson installed his light boxes "Interior World".

 

The building became a gallery and the spaces were sparsely furnished, just enough to give clues to the domestic functions of each space. The building is currently a 'live-work' home.