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Medal Winner 2007

The Cabinet of Curiosities

Part 1 Project 2007
Amandine Kastler
 Architectural Association London | UK
Designed to store figurative marble sculptures and small sacred silver
objects, the newly constructed architectural body shares the
exuberance and sculptural qualities of the figurative pieces it
contains. The ornamental language is developed from a material
investigation originating from the traditional craft methods employed to create the stored objects which are adapted into contemporary building processes, giving expression and new meaning to the 'Cabinet of Curiosities'.
The anthropomorphic container refers to John Ruskin's theory in 'The Lamp of Beauty'(1849),that out of all natural forms, imitating human form is the noblest. The visitor is invited to view the objects in a visceral and experiential atmosphere rethinking the legitimacy of the neutral white cube and the museum as a site of timeless preservation.



This year’s brief asked to investigate the potential return of Architectural Ornament in the age of mass-customisation technology.
Initial interventions with historical precedent (from Rococo to Modernism) led to the main design project: a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ situated in the quadrangle of the V&A Museum. The cabinet would be an on-site storage facility containing objects not currently on display, making them accessible to the public.
The submitted project intelligently translates traditional craft methods of the ornamental objects contained within into architectural scale construction processes for the ornate container. The performance of the anthropomorphic ornamental language is successful functionally (hiding joints, facilitating drainage and patination etc.), aesthetically (material expression) and critically (non-neutral museum space, contemporary iconography).

2007
The Capriccio:All stages of the project from investigations into historical ornaments to the development of the Cabinet of Curiosities are subsumed in the capriccio, a singular pictorial representation of a fantastical space produced as a narrating device
Initial study one: The Amalienburg, 18th century Rococo hunting lodge. The highly ornate walls of the Hall of Mirrors are unfolded to study the language of historical ornament.
The Rococo ornament depicts a faux nature and scenes from the hunt. Masking a plain substructure, the rocaille encrustation mediates between the interior space and the surrounding woods.
Initial study two: Fallingwater. The investigation of ornament continued into the modernist masterpiece, Fallingwater. Potential moments of ornamentation within Fallingwater are located and unmasked to develop a contemporary ornamental language.
Ornamental Proposal at the V& A: The Cabinet of Curiosities in the quadrangle of the V&A. The rusting steel skin of the sacred silver storage facility drapes over the bulging baroque marble which contains the stored sculpture pieces.
Contour plan of the extension in the quadrangle 1:100
Development of ornamental strategy: Cabinet of Curiosities Ornamental prototype 1:5. In my proposal, ornament functions structurally and aesthetically together, and its materiality and form refer to the original context of the stored objects.
From object to architectural scale: Metal The traditional craft methods used to create an object from each gallery were analysed and translated into contemporary building technologies. An ornamental ester scroll from the Sacred Silver gallery was chosen.
From object to architectural scale: Marble A figurative marble sculpture, Bernini’s Neptune and Triton, from the Sculpture gallery was analysed in its traditional craft methods and translated into contemporary processes of mass customisation.
The rusting corten steel is a representation of the decaying and flayed body in religious iconography. The weathered flesh is perforated with the body of Christ as a figurative symbolic representation referring to the religious objects stored within.
The newly constructed architectural body lies in the tradition of gargoyles, atlases and caryatids. White marble is used to symbolise the idealised body of antiquity.
Wall section and Ornamental Prototype. The continuous veining of the surfaces works as the ornamental fabric that ties the two extensions together. It also facilitates hidden joints, drainage and controlled aging through the concave veining system.
East Section AA.The intention of the Cabinet of Curiosities is to recreate the experiential characteristics referring to the original context of the objects. Decorative multi-layered surface and concealed light sources are typical of the Baroque tradition
Section AB: The sculptures are at eye level, creating a more visceral experience and a connection between viewer and object. The visitor stands on his own plinth. No longer a distant observer, the visitor becomes part of the anthropomorphic display.
Exterior Views: The fleshy mass of baroque marble re-landscapes the existing courtyard while the patination of the ornamental skin is in contrast to the eternally preserved and polished artifice within the museum space.
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