Cosmic House. Wayfinding.
London, 2021

EN  The Cosmic House was the home of Charles Jencks – a hugely influential theorist, landscape designer, and architectural historian. The building is one of the key landmarks in the development of Post-Modernist architecture. Densely packed with ideas, symbols and motifs, its architecture embraces an entire cosmos of architectural allusion and reference. Designed in collaboration with architect Terry Farrell, and built between 1978 and 1983, the spaces are characterised by changes in levels, fragmented forms, and oblique views across spaces. Unusually for an interior of this period, it remains substantially as it was designed, built and lived in with all its original bespoke furniture and fittings intact.

As part of the building's transformation from home to museum, we were approached to develop an in-situ wayfinding system titling each of the themed rooms and spaces. Upon receiving the commission, it became apparent that the challenge was to design a wayfinding system that was non-intrusive, yet functional: The signs had to stand out enough to fit their purpose (signmark the spaces and guide the visitors) while being subtle enough to not interfere with the original interiors. The response was a set of 'totems', some freestanding, some simply leaning against a surface – not unlike a misplaced broom.