Sensing Spaces Pavilion

With a focus on exploring the experiential qualities of architecture and the perception of space, the Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined exhibition invited seven architects from four continents to produce site-specific installations at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

In order to provoke a more direct encounter with materials, light and space, Francis Kéré sought to disrupt the perceived barrier between architectural form and the viewer by creating an interactive environment. The pavilion consisted of 34 overlapping arches made of translucent honeycomb sheets, a widely available and often overlooked building material that reflected the industrialised nature of London. Creating a cavernous, tunnel-like passageway from one room to another, the Sensing Spaces Pavilion highlighted an area of an exhibition space that is often ignored: the doorway. The light-diffusing qualities of the material imparted an ethereal effect, while the perforated structure of the honeycomb became a medium for visitors to manipulate.

Upon entering the space, visitors were given access to multicoloured drinking straws, which could then be inserted at any part of the Sensing Spaces Pavilion’s surface. By encouraging people to participate in the architecture, the experience became less about a personal visual understanding and more about communal interactions and aesthetic negotiations. As more visitors passed through and engaged with the Sensing Spaces Pavilion, more straws began to accumulate on the interior and exterior. As the walls became filled with colourful straws, the interior space began to dim and constrict. In this way, the Sensing Spaces Pavilion itself became a record of the countless interactions and encounters happening in the space.

A limited series of furniture pieces made of honeycomb plastic sheet and local timber provided areas for visitors to relax and contemplate the experience of the Sensing Spaces Pavilion.