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Adam Simpson, Boundary Hotel Elevator (Vs. OMA, EXPO 89, France, Paris, 1989)

July 20, 2011 by Fosco Lucarelli 4 Comments

Adam Simpson, English illustrator.

This is “Boundary Hotel Elevator”. A commission to produce an artwork to appear floor to ceiling, all 4 sides of the elevator vestibule at the new ‘Boundary Hotel’ situated on Boundary Street in London. The artwork was devised around a grid of boundary walls. Each walled segment is about 170mm square. The idea behind producing such a detailed artwork was that each journey in the elevator would give the visitor a chance to study a new scene in the artwork. A geometric toile de jouy of sorts. The conversion of the Victorian warehouse building on Boundary Street, into a boutique hotel, was a joint venture between Sir Terence Conran, Lady Conran and Peter Prescott & Partners. The hotel opened in January 2009.

(Text from ADC Young Guns).

Don’t you find that these drawings remind a canceled 1982 OMA project for the Exposition Universelle, (which was to be held in Paris in 1989)?

The project was based, we were told, on a model of brotherhood: identical cubic pavilions hugged the perimeter of the site to leave a large public area in the middle where crowds could gather to celebrate the future; the pavilions were placed close together, “hand in hand” as one of the architects explained.

From OMA.

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Comments

  1. Roberto says

    July 21, 2011 at 8:05 am

    Molto interessante. Ritrae un clima con delle sfumature quasi sorprendenti e, per avere come riferimento il buon vecchio big brother, non è affatto stereotipato.

  2. Kamal says

    July 21, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    C’è pure: “Lei suona il piano, lui la tromba” :D

  3. Hyojin LEE says

    August 10, 2015 at 4:05 pm

    I’ll never forget this drawing! It was the cover of our leisure-time text book!!
    Remember the time when we were reading again again’ the end of the work’ and watching the drawings those you guys gave to us! I was just glad to meet it again by chance :-)

  4. mariabruna fabrizi says

    August 11, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    Of course we remember! It was a pleasure for us too to work with you!

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