If Only...
...a room could be infinite, says Scott Kyson, of Studio Kyson
I have long had an interest in the ageing patinas that occur with materials through long exposure to our natural environment. The aesthetic and textural qualities of materials are transformed through weathering. This continual refinishing of a building by nature adds to, rather than diminishes, architectural meaning.
In this conceptual room I’ve explored the effect of using an aged wall surface from the mountain region of Da Nang, Vietnam. I have combined the timeless beauty of the patinated wall surface from Da Nang with a simple modern aesthetic. This gives the space a surreal, ethereal yet authentic quality – that will keep changing.
Over years, decades and centuries we can thus appreciate not only the effect of decay, but also an organic transformation; as bacterial and fungi deposits colonise the surface to form dense-coloured layers of biofilm we know as patina. Being able to recreate this biological transformation within the built environment would make the ‘final’ state of the construction of a space infinite.
Scott Kyson established his eponymous studio in London, 2006. Kyson’s work provides dramatic stages for everyday life, whether in gritty urban streetscape or rarefied residential work. His architecture is founded on rigour, proportion and rationale, underpinning his innate passion for design. Thanks to spending extensive time in the Far East, Kyson appreciates the deep-rooted relationship between vernacular architecture and culture. The connection between people, rituals and nature, played out against backdrops of light, shadow and materials, are constant threads in his architecture.
