Profil-Enfance-Millieu

Accomplishing the brief without any addition of area and without touching the exhibition spaces, required resourcefulness. The interventions optimize the restricted areas available for the gallery’s offices with the assistance of custom designed kinetic devices. These devices move building elements to expand and increase the quality of the available space.

The interventions borrow the language of exhibition design to turn the tables on the notion of ‘back- of-house’. Each of the three finely calibrated interiors are contained within a thick grey wooden line. The thickness of the line is revealed at the edge of each space as if it was the hatch of its sectional drawing. The grey line is extruded in the third dimension to define the inner workings of the gallery in a manner reminiscent of stage sets or doll’s houses. Their uniform bold outlines defy scale and materiality while paradoxically giving a sense of precision and intent.

Profil is a deep and narrow alcove that used to be a storage area for cleaning materials. It is designed as desk space for three people sitting side by side looking out through a window. The five meter long guillotine window disappears into the ceiling connecting the office desk to the courtyard and the exhibition space beyond.  All around, shelving, drawers and counter space complete the envelope.

Milieu is about the enjoyment of lingering between aisles of bookcases flipping through books. In fact, the whole installation operates in a similar way with the bookcases sliding sideways to reveal ever more books. The custom designed and manufactured movable bookcases with a height of 2.5 meters and a weight of half a ton, provide 90 linear meters of shelving in an area of just 9 sm.

Enface is a room within a room where the two directors share the same desktop. Sitting opposite each other stimulates the dialogue. This last installation was not built.