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MINI Living: Asif Khan Partnership.
"Forests" Installation by Asif Khan.
Three architectural installations with different interior landscapes and plant life are being inserted on nearby sites in Shoreditch’s busy city streets, offering visitors a temporary network of “third places” to connect, create and relax in an immersive atmosphere. Although each space is open to different types of activity, the layout also enables the hosting of specific events during the Festival.
In the square next to Shoreditch Fire Station a long communal table has been installed, encouraging visitors to meet and interact. Not far away in Charles Square stepped seating serves as a place for visitors to work in quiet surroundings. Finally, the junction of Old Street and Pitfield Street features an elevated room that offers passers-by a secluded green room in the city.
MINI invites the Festival visitors to use the installations as extensions of their private space and to link the public and the private by taking plants home, growing them in their own homes and sharing their plant’s progress on social media.
Khan says, “There is a Japanese phrase ‘shinrin yoku’, which literally means ‘forest bathing’. It means every sense switches to absorb the forest atmosphere, what you hear, what you smell, even the feeling underfoot. At another scale we use plants as a tool to assert our personal space at its boundary with public space, whether on our desk at the office or at the perimeter of our home. The project brings these two ideas together for visitors to experience new sensations within the city.”
Jin Ahn says, “Every day in London we can see the efforts and abilities of plants in the city. In our project, two of these qualities will shine through at a larger scale – the compelling aesthetic pleasure of plants and their ability to connect people.”
Supported by MINI
MINI LIVING: Future of urban living in a post-growth era
11.00am–12pm, 19 September The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, V&A Level 4 Free, drop in. See p.58
These are also a selection of events taking place at Vince Court. To see the full programme and secure your place visit www.londondesignfestival.com.