A Room for London, designed by David Kohn Architects in collaboration with Fiona Banner, is a one-bedroom installation that will sit on roof of Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and be part of the London 2012 Festival.
The design competition for A Room for London, which attracted entries from around 500 architects and artists from across the world, was set by Living Architecture and Artangel, in association with Southbank Centre. The brief was to create a room on one of the most visible sites in the British capital, where up to two people at a time could spend a unique night in an exemplary architectural landmark.
The winning design, A Room for London: Roi des Belges, is a boat perched on the Queen Elizabeth Hall roof which appears to have come to rest there, grounded, perhaps, from the retreating waters of the Thames below. David and Fiona drew inspiration from the riverboat captained by Joseph Conrad whilst in the Congo in 1890, a journey echoed in his most famous work Heart of Darkness.
From the lower and upper ‘decks' of this beautifully crafted timber structure (see a plan here), there are extraordinary views of a London panorama that stretches from Big Ben to St Paul's cathedral. With an en-suite double bedroom, kitchenette, library and viewing deck, guests are invited to rest and reflect upon what they see and hear during their one night stay; logging their thoughts, observing cloud patterns, the character of the river and deeper undercurrents.
Read architectural reviews of A Room for London: The Observer, The Sunday Times The Guardian and The Financial Times. And see more interior and exterior photos of A Room for London on our website.
The team:
- Design and concept - David Kohn Architects in collaboration with Fiona Banner
- Project manager – McLennan
- Quantity surveyor – Boyden Group LLP
- Structural Engineer – Price & Myers
- M&E – Max Fordham LLP
- Main contractor and fabricator – Millimetre Ltd
- Lift design & supply – Alimak Hek
- Appliances – Miele
David Kohn Architects is a London-based practice founded by David Kohn in 2007 specialising in cultural buildings. Recent projects include a local arts centre for the Olympic Park Legacy Company, a pavilion for the Architecture Foundation and several West End contemporary art galleries. The practice was awarded 'Young Architect of the Year' in 2009 and 'One-Off House Architect of the Year' in 2010 for a holiday home in Norfolk.
Fiona Banner is an artist. Her work repeatedly explores the themes of narrative and history. For her recent installation "Harrier and Jaguar" she placed two fighter planes in the central atrium of Tate Britain. She has explored the retelling of history through war movies, most notable through her book The Nam, which retells major Vietnam films in her own words.
For press enquiries about A Room for London and Living Architecture, please contact Pauline Stobbs at Theresa Simon & Partners. For images please visit Theresa Simon & Partners' press page.