aberrant architecture - David Chambers & Kevin Haley

4 January - 30 June 2010

In 2010, aberrant, in conjunction with the Royal Institute of British Architects, were architecture residents at the V&A. Working from a studio within the museum, aberrant mined the collections for the best historical precedents on the subject of ‘work’ in order to address the condition for the 21st Century.

You can read their residency blog to find out more about their work and creative processes.

aberrant architecture is a design studio and think tank founded in Tokyo in 2007 by David Chambers and Kevin Haley, with a mandate to explore a world full of complication and contradiction.

The notion of working is our primary area of research. In the 21st century, working is becoming more flexible and the space where it occurs more diverse: a dining table is also a desk, a coffee shop is for trade as well as for socialising and a train carriage is now an office.

Working is also a subject that has the potential to stimulate a variety of opinions and debate regardless of whether you are a nomadic 25-year-old knowledge worker operating out of a shared office facility, a 30-something couple with children running a small clothing importation business out of a converted garage, a middle-aged woman with a disability who has given up factory work to sew on an industrial machine at home, or a septuagenarian gentleman creating a financial services industry, post retirement, in the local Starbucks.

Interests in V&A collection

aberrant architecture, 'The Single Life', render, research project, 2007 (click image for larger version)

aberrant are fascinated by history and how the most successful lessons from the past can inspire new work to address our present and future conditions: What better place is there to learn from the past than the collections of the world's greatest museum of art and design?

aberrant mined the V&A and RIBA collections to uncover the most successful historical working precedents, be it the plans for the proto-industrial weaver's house, an 18th-century writing cabinet or a late 19th-century painting depicting factory life. Through various mediums they explored the 'life' that surrounded each precedent as well as study the period, location and social setting.

To engage the collections from multiple perspectives, we surveyed the large scale of the city, investigated the community and the dwelling, and zoomed in on the table. At the largest scale, we addressed 'the big picture' of how our cities and communities have successfully supported the needs, wants and desires of a variety of workers in the past. At the smaller scale, we studied the buildings, environments, products and services that the collections contain. The lessons learnt from this research directly fed into the production of a new creative piece towards the end of the residency that looks to address working in the 21st century.

Inspiration for your work other than V&A collection

aberrant architecture, 'Out of Office', research book, 2009 (click image for larger version)

People are our inspiration. aberrant examine the way people live and interact with one another, researching hidden desires and unforeseen dilemmas that impact on our world.

Our work and research is neither inert nor carried out in a vacuum. We immerse ourselves in dialogue, discussion and collaboration with a wide variety of everyday people, not just artists and creative professionals, to facilitate a balanced outcome. We also teach, lecture and critique at various educational institutions to engage, discuss, measure and exchange new ideas and build networks of knowledge founded upon similar interests.

We embrace normality. Rejecting the superficial temptation to be 'different', we believe the greatest creative pressure on a designer is to come to terms with the normality and the everyday issues that affect us all. Tasked with making these discoveries we constantly ask questions and test our ideas through drawings, models and films before answering a problem with a building. We are committed to generating sincere and intelligent responses, which can be anything from an installation, a book or even an entire city.

Biography

aberrant architecture, 'Ruffians Hall', drawing, research project, 2007 (click image for larger version)

David Chambers
David studied architecture at Bath University, gaining the Barton Willmore Prize for Innovative Design (2004), T.U. Delft and at the Royal College of Art. He has worked for Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, Sall, Cullinan & Buck Architects, Richard Mitzman Architects and LOM architecture & design. David has extensive experience of working on a variety of award-winning projects, including Telford Millennium Community, Dunraven Sports Hall, and 15 Grove End Road, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy. As a researcher, David has worked with Foreign Office Architects and Icon Magazine.

Kevin Haley

Kevin studied interior design and environmental architectures at Ravensbourne College, gaining the New Designers Future of Design Award (2003), and architecture at the Royal College of Art where he was awarded the architecture prize (2006).He has worked for Greig & Stephenson, Portland Design Associates, Foster + Partners, and Softroom Architects.

Kevin has extensive experience of working on a variety of award-winning projects, including Mercarti Generali in Rome, Glyndwr Student Residences and the Yotel hotel project. Kevin has also worked with the British council at the Venice Biennale 2006. Kevin is currently teaching architectural design at Ravensbourne College of Art and Design.

aberrant architecture: David Chambers and Kevin Haley

Ravensbourne Student Work, structure, softwood & plywood, 2009 (click image for larger version)

David and Kevin are unit leaders at London Metropolitan University and are guest-lecturers at other leading art and architecture schools throughout the UK. In the past, they have been invited to be visiting critics at the Royal College of Art, participated in various workshops, including the Learning from Cities workshop at the 2006 Venice Biennale, and exhibited pieces in galleries and museums across the UK. David and Kevin will be exhibiting at the upcoming Shenzhen & Hong Kong Biennale of Architecture in 2010

Open Studios

aberrant architecture (with Falcon B. Mews and Rosalind Richards), 'Love Stories of Recession', book of short stories, 2009 (click image for larger version)

During the residency you could visit David and Kevin in their studio to experience their work in progress and find out about how they work. Residency Studios are open for anyone to visit. Museum Residents have special access to the Museum's vast collections for study and research which may inspire new ideas or help develop creative skills.