Universal Design Studio is opening the doors to its first-ever public installation, a collaboration with London-based co-working company, The Office Group, for The London Design Festival. The installation, called “On Repeat,” is inspired by a concept the organizers describe as “the ability of visual pattern and physical repetition to induce a state of mind known as ‘open awareness’; a form of attention achieved by the repetition of manual tasks, which allow the mind to wander and creative thinking to flourish.”
“On Repeat” will host events and workshops that explore the theme too, including repetitive tasks such as meditative breathing, wood cutting and sushi making.
Hannah Carter Owers, director at Universal Design Studio, said, “Our ambition was to contribute a thoughtful example of social architecture to the festival. We wanted to design an environment that requires human engagement to be fully built—and to fulfill its purpose–but also that physically represents the idea being explored, in this case, repetition.”
“As architects, our interest in repetition stems from the act of making and re-making, in the iterative design process, and the aesthetic potential of following a simple rule,” shared Paul Gulati, associate director at Universal Design Studio. “Our collaboration with TOG has resulted in a pavilion that embodies the power of frequency in its form and programming. This holistic approach will help our minds wander into a daydreaming state by providing an environment to encourage serendipitous associations.”
“We love the idea of using this piece of architecture to explore how the human elements to where we work are so important,” said Charlie Green, co-founder of The Office Group. “The idea of repetition and letting the mind escape from work will, we hope, illustrate how we all need different environments to work within, and how having that choice can make us more creative and ultimately more productive.”
Located at Black & White Shoreditch, 74 Rivington Street, in London, the installation will run September 16 to 24.
