Portfolio Christopher Clarkson
Index
1. Design Projects: 04
Luna Solace
Mariahoeve Rebirth
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Angelus Novus
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Penrose Entrance
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Archiscape Dunehouse
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2. Publication Examples
Where the Light is Strong
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Abandoned Lounge
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3. Analog Photography
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3
Luna Solace
4VELUX Light Competition 2020 In Collaboration with Ieva Davulyte, Katrine Natorp, Iman Ramshini
Sirens scream in shades of red and yellow, Traffic flows without ebb to the tune of a never-ending day, Screens remain luminescent while we traverse the universe, Earth’s sky takes on an orange hue tonight And the moon wanes for no one;
But in that place where the sun rises, There is a space in the realm of peace and presence Where by gravity’s pull one may only go, As the water subsides and the path emerges I am pulled forward, Quick quick… before it’s too late;
I breach the threshold, and with a confident thud The portal closes behind... The descent begins, as memories and associations rise I dive deeper into my subconscious, Catching glimpses of light from both above and below;
Here in this subterranean place, Where the light of Sol pours in triumphantly from above And the shapeshifting Luna is reflected from below, Here I find solace in a world governed by the cosmos;
The rising tide trickles in and the surrounding walls glisten As I stand alone in the pool of reflection. A filter of purples and blues are cast before my eyes and It is of the milky way I dream, hidden behind an orange glow;
Long is the voyage back, But soon the path will disappear and me with it, Shall I stay for one more cycle? No, back to Rotterdam I must go, Now once again I am able to endure it;
Sirens scream in shades of red and yellow, Birds and people move with ebb and flow. While we traverse the universe, an orange hue fills the sky, But behind this mirage I know, The moon wanes for me.
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Celestial Influence on Tide
Interior Light Study ^
Situation Plan with Sun Diagram
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24 Hour Tide Cycle of Rotterdam
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Light Pollution in The Netherlands
Luna Solace aims to provide that which is most lacking in the lives of Metropolitans who have become detached from the meanings of their lives. It gains its name from the roman personifications of the moon (Luna) and her brother, the sun (Sol). Our proposal takes a stance against the speed, chaos, and distraction of the metropolis, making use of light as a tool to connect us to the feeling of being part of nature, something much larger than ourselves. For all technological advancement, we as a society have regressed spiritually, losing touch with the divine. With Luna Solace we provide a space in which one might find respite from the metropolitan hubbub of Rotterdam City, in the Netherlands, by engaging with the environment in a more real, primal sense. Rotterdam is located in the Randstad, a region defined not only by its immense population density, but also by its light pollution, which is amongst the worst in the world. As a result, the natural cycles are essentially removed here as the sky shifts from blue to orange but the day goes on, and the city doesn’t sleep. We have become completely detached from celestial, circadian and natural cycles, and Luna Solace aims to reincorporate these into our lives.
The Dutch landscape is almost entirely designed, in large due to its historical relationship with water. Although having been crucial for the success of the Netherlands, water is often perceived as a threat which must be controlled. In Luna Solace we redefine this relationship by empowering the tidal cycles, governed by the movements of the sun and moon. In Walhaven, the entrance to Luna Solace is a pier just above low tide height, providing access and exit only during low tide. This allows you to remain in temporary isolation between the tidal cycles, connecting you to the movement of celestial bodies. As you approach the location, walking through one of the most industrial areas of Rotterdam, you will wait on land watching the water slowly reveal the path to your destination. Once the water is low enough you may proceed, walking along the 500-metre path you become surrounded by an expanse of water, realising the inferiority of man in the presence of nature. On the summer solstice as you walk forwards, the sunrise occurs exactly behind Luna Solace, a rare event. Twelve minutes, and an intimidating pilgrimage later you encounter the entrance to Luna Solace: a portal through a round facade which gives away no secrets. 9
Exploded Axonometry
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Upon entering Luna Solace, you are confronted with a spiralling staircase wrapping around the interior space leading down below. Organic openings in the interior wall permit light to pour into the staircase, providing you with glimpses to the sky as well as downwards to the bottom of Luna Solace. After your descent, you encounter a subterranean water garden; this pool of reflection mirrors the movement of the sun and moon above. Here, we have pulled the sky down into the Earth, and you are floating between two skies both above and below. During high tide two channels above let minimal amounts of water in, glistening the interior walls. Within the pool of reflection the user experiences a kind of peace unattainable in the world above, and you are positioned such that the sole point of your attention is the light, be it from the sun or from the moon, or from the light pollution of the city and nearby greenhouses. Remaining in Luna Solace between tidal cycles allows you to slow down and contemplate, experiencing the gradual movement of light across the interior facade of the
subterranean garden during the day. At night, the oculus above reveals a hidden galaxy, and the introverted character of darkness enables you to connect with yourself and the cosmos better in complete isolation and stillness. By directing the attention to this sky at night we set the stage for a kind of disappointment, that is, a disappointment in society’s choice to disregard their position in the universe, going so far as to design their night sky with a toxic orange hue. We hope that one day light pollution will be better controlled and localised, making the Milky Way visible. As the tide recedes again, the walls matte, and it is time for you to go back and face the world. Ascending the stairs, the position of light has shifted, marking your changed cosmic position. The journey along the hidden path seems longer now as you leave this place of tranquillity, but you are now reborn in the sense that you understand something you previously didn’t. With this we hope to have given you the strength to return to the chaos of the city and live in it with a new kind of harmony, knowing your position in the universe.
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Mariahoeve Rebirth
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Mariahoeve - Rebirth is a renovation and new-building residential project located in Mariahoeve, the Hague.
Similarly, the pre-existing farm and polder landscape is no longer legible within the landscape of the area.
The above illustrations present the core narrative elements of this project. The existing structures which stand as a disconnected L at the moment are largely constructed using concrete made from the rubble of WW2 bombings in Rotterdam. This concrete was subsequently covered with bricks.
This project aims to reintroduce these ‘true‘ identities of the location. The fake brick facade is to be removed, and reused in the new construction. This exposes the story of the original building’s tragic birth. Rainwater shall be carried along the facade of the building and form a grid in the public space.
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Cullen Series of Public/ Private Spaces
The project focusses itself on the creation of shared spaces to strengthen social cohesion between diverse groups of people using different residential typologies. In the cullen series above, the user perspective shows how from the street the garden functions as a semi-private space, in which an artificial slope is added. The grid of the old polder landscape is superimposed on this artificial landscape and
creates a shallow pool, with a sculpture of the people who represent the neighbourhood. Atop the hill stands trees which are being maintained with pollarding. Finally, once reaching the communal roof-terrace the residents have a vantage point over the garden as well as the rest of their neighbourhood, encouraging social interaction and leisure between neighbours. 15
Situation Plan
Vertical Extension Plan
Renovated Apartments North Block
New Building Plan 1st Floor
Corner Extension
Renovated Apartments East Block
New Building Plan Ground
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Facade Fragment with Section and Plan
Most important in this project is the consolidation of historic elements of the building with new interventions. In order to accomplish this consolidation, contrast is employed to better define the pre-existing and the new. As such, in the floor plan newly added walls are given a fluid formal language, while existing walls remain orthagonal. In the facade, a new translucent
polycarbonate layer is added to allow a level of transparency to the original WW2 rubble concrete. Above, the concrete is visible within the stroke of balconies. Columns supporting the balconies are used as drainage pipes which are open to the public space. These drains then feed into channels on the ground floor forming the ‘polder‘ landscape. Thus recreating a landscape now forgotten, and rerepresenting a history now forgotten.
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Plan Ground Floor
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Plan First Floor
Cross Section AA’
Cross Section BB’
The juxtaposition of old and new as presented in orthagonal and fluid formal language is also extended to the garden, where the slope is new, and the grid of the polder is ‘preexisting’. The intention of this design was to manipulate facts of the place and represent them in a new way, such that they speak more truthfully to
the preexisting condition than reality previously did. To quote Werner Herzog, film maker and thinker “There are deeper strata of truth; poetic, ecstatic truth. It is mysterious and elusive and can only be reached through fabrication and imagination and stylisation.” 19
Angelus Novus
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Angelus Novus is a a small public building which serves to provide artificially intelligent boat rides to tourists through the canals of Amsterdam. Located near the Maritime museum of Amsterdam, it is located in an old harbour of the Dutch East Indies company. A company which, although not as directly involved in slave trade as the western counterpart, was responsible for the use of slaves within the many Dutch Colonies; and of course, as the Maritime Museum likes to project, was largely responsible for the success and wealth of the Netherlands.
Situation Plan
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Owner to Slave Ratio of Cape Town, 1710
The chain facade of this design pays homage to those without whom the Netherlands wouldn’t be what it is today; and it also offers some public, placerelated acknowledgement of a past more pleasantly ignored.
3D Impression from East
Angelus Novus is the angle of history. With its wings swept back in the storm of progress, its eyes are fixed in the past, whence came.
East Elevation
North Elevation
West Elevation
South Elevation
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Floor Plan: Ground
Floor Plan: First Floor
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Cross Section BB’
In plan and section it is clear how the chain facade acts also as a routing device, as well as a shade of the glass facade on the first floor. 24
The route is set up as a series of barriers and scenes. Paths passing through semi-permeable barriers are inspired by the existing structure of the context.
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Penrose Entrance
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3D Impression
The Penrose Entrance is designed as a new entrance to the Escher Museum in The Hague.
but also from above and below. Secondly, the guiding inspiration of Escher’s Penrose Staircases informed an entanglement of walls, With this design a walking roofs, and paths such that route is created with two access the viewer can easily lose points at ground floor. The path their orientation within the provides space for sculptures space and feel as if they to be exhibited and guides are themselves within an the user down 4 metres to the Escherean illusion. entrance of the museum itself. This is accomplished by As a sculpture garden for the realising the path in a Escher museum the design homogenous reflective steel intentions were to firstly floor with glass ballustrades. By provide a route which provided creating multiple crossroads a dynamic perspective of the user is also confronted with sculptures to be displayed; not decisions of which direction to only in a horizontal perspective go forward with. 28
Escher’s Penrose Staircase
Routes Pulled Apart
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Cross Section AA’
Cross Section BB’
Cross Section CC’
Cross Section DD’
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Renders
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This entanglement of routes is in fact a single route which ascends and descends, turns and crosses itself, and with a light structure remains open enough that light can reach the sculptures. Left is a sequence of four cross sections which more clearly show the path’s relation to itself horizontally. Above are a collection of renders showing perspectives from within the Penrose Entrance.
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Archiscape Dunehouse
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The Archiscape Dunehouse is a residential and garden design situated in the dune landscape of The Netherlands. The title is a portmanteau of Architecture and Landscape, and in a word encapsulates the intention of the project. The House poses the question
Situation Plan
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of relationship between landscape and architecture, and explores the spatial possibilities that can be accomplished by blurring their formal distinction and creating intersections as opposed to borders. The house is designed to function in much the same way that the landscape itself does.
In order to do so, the interior floor is sculpted to undulate, creating ‘natural’ chairs within the ground. Of importance is the round entrance hall and lounge which burried within the ground. Its form resembles a valley of the landscape and provides respite from the high windspeed atop hills and an isolated view of the sky.
Similarly, within the garden architectural elements of walls and columns are introduced to conceal and reveal views, obstruct paths and also provide beacons to serve as reference point. Between the rooms of the house paths lead outside and provide a raw experience of the nature.
1:100 3D Model
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Cross Section across Site
Plan: Outdoor Bathroom
Plan: Guest Bedroom
Section: Outdoor Bathroom
Section: Guest Bedroom
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Plan: Master Bedroom
Plan: Lounge and Kitchen
Section: Master Bedroom
Section: Lounge and Kitchen
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From the editors
WHERE THE LIGHT IS STRONG… Words & image Christopher Clarkson
Among the many things that have changed since the beginning of lockdown is my perception of the space in which I live. What once was the place with fond associations of warmth, comfort, and intimacy has become something else entirely. While maintaining essentially the same spatial characteristics - the chair I use to work is still there, the window which lets light in still lets light in, the room is still as big as it used to be and the dining table is precisely where I left it – the phenomenological experience of these spatial qualities; the mental, psychological attachment to them, has shifted from a once Bachelardian narrative into a more depressing Foucauldian panopticon prison. What follows is a phenomenological analysis of my and, essentially, your home in these changing times. Meanwhile, overlapping with this soliloquy of mine, is the jarring commentary of lyrics and melodies singing an all too joyful and now seemingly naïve tune of what home is, causing ironies and provoking memories of days and emotions passed but not quite forgotten. 07
House is the physical and tangible space in which people live; home comes loaded with a subjective attachment and all the sentiments that go with it. No one asks you which house you’re going to when you declare that you are going home – everyone knows that you are returning to your house. As a result, the home gains a special level of meaning to its resident(s), one which is deeply intimate and private. Home becomes a container for memories and worries, for relaxation and break-downs, love and bitter arguments, of experiencing the warmth after running home through the cold rain, and the undeniable bliss of staying in instead of facing the world when you’re too tired or sick. Home is all of this, in between the times when we venture out into the uncontained ‘wilderness’ with the public façade we don for the sake of social interactions and existing in public work environments. In Bachelard’s Poetics of Space, this is taken to its extreme, where he poses the structure of the house to be akin even to the psychological working of its resident: the attic is bright and above ground, a kind of escape from the dark depths of the basement where suppressed
and gloomy thoughts and fears dwell. In so doing, the borders between the tangible house and the metaphysical nature of the dweller become blurred at the intersection that is home. Slowly, however, as weeks have changed into months of remaining at home, much like a worn-out recording of a favourite song, Bachelard’s indulgent and syrupy sweet analyses of the house have become warped, distorted and the thought of home now leaves a lingering bitterness. With the shift in the way in which we experience our homes, the spaces of privacy and intimacy have been brought into the glare of the public institution, likening the meaning of home to the panopticon as described by Foucault. Foucault’s panopticon describes a power dynamic between prisoners in a circular ring of cages and the prison guard in an observing tower in the centre; the prisoners have one window allowing for daylight from the construction’s exterior, and one gate facing towards the tower enabling constant surveillance. Key to understanding this is that the prisoners can
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see the observation tower, but not the guard, so, they do not know if they are actually being observed or not. In any case the consequences of misbehaviour if they are being watched are clear. As a result, Foucault describes, how because the prisoners are conscious of their surveillance, they become self-disciplining. Foucault fittingly goes a step further
to compare this to a plagued medieval town under quarantine, with guards patrolling the public space. Should a prisoner exit their home, the punishment is death, and so, even though the resident is unaware if there is or isn’t a guard outside their home, the resident imprisons themselves regardless.
Homeward bound, I wish I was Homeward bound Home, where my thoughts escaping, where my music’s playin’, Home, where my love life’s waitin’ silently for me. Every day’s an endless stream of cigarettes and magazines And each town looks the same to me the movies and the factories and every stranger’s face I see reminds me that I long to be homeward bound, I wish I was, homeward bound. ‘Homeward bound’ – Simon and Garfunkel
The once charming rattle of the single pane stained glass windows in the spring breeze is now alarming. Instead of serving as a meditative portal through which you can observe the day pass you by, it feels more like one through which other prisoners across
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the canal can observe you. And what is to be seen by looking through this window if you dare to? A tree, perhaps a canal… and across the street, your fellow prisoners who have a mirrored view of the same scene.
Such a cosy room, the windows are illuminated by the evening sunshine through them fiery gems for you Our house, is a very very very fine house, with two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard […] And our – la la lalalala la lala la la lala lala la lalala lalala[…] ‘Our House’ – Crosby Stills and Nash
The drain in your bathroom which emits an occasional ‘pop!’ that brings back memories of much loved former visitors now becomes a haunting ‘bang!’ which you cannot escape. And the garish carpet on my bedroom floor upon which I’ve shared
whiskeys and laughed with friends now remains cold and without mirth. Collecting only dust, and hair that should have been cut two months ago instead of memories.
‘I said to Hank Williams, “How lonely does it get?” Hank Williams hasn’t answered yet, but I hear him coughing… all night long.’ ‘Tower of Song’ – Leonard Cohen
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The ultimate portal of the front door at the bottom of the stairs has changed its representation of freedom and safe passage from the intimate to the exciting outdoors into a threshold which ought not be trespassed. From the terrace which is surrounded
by walls of other homes, sitting in a dark, viewless isolation, the vent from the neighbours below pokes through the floor and lets the cries and laughter of their young daughter be heard.
These are the days of miracle of wonder […] Medicine is magical and magical is ordinary ‘Boy in the Bubble’ – Paul Simon
When your entire world becomes defined by the archetypal characteristics of a house, and the tree outside, when all public interaction takes place through a computer screen with other people in their own homes, it transpires that your home is no longer unique. Because all public interaction takes place within it, the intimate values reduce, and furthermore, your home’s context becomes irrelevant. When discussing how international students in their homes in Mumbai, or Hong Kong, or Copenhagen might struggle with online lessons, Dick van Gameren in a Zoom meeting on the 8th of April made the astute observation by saying that, “In principle, distance is irrelevant” because at the end of the day we meet in a digital room, so, in the eyes of the public your location is irrelevant, and, as such, without context; you are as much in your bedroom
with 20 colleagues as you are in the bedrooms of the other 20 meeting attendees. And so, these contextless homes which we find ourselves in bring Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot to mind, a play in which two characters wait in a place defined only by a path, a bog, a bush (or a shrub), and themselves. Is it in France? South Africa? Japan? All of these places or none at the same time? These characters are waiting for Godot to arrive, and as time passes, events repeat, the days are the same, and the same strange faces come and go, but Godot never arrives. In Beckett’s Waiting for Godot Estragon proclaims eventually: “Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful!” and I can’t help but feel like we are all, waiting for Godot.
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From the editors
ABANDONED LOUNGE Words and images Christopher Clarkson
The humble chair, couch, or stool, represents a place of rest. That place where you can be still. It invites you to cease your endless departure and stay a while. Much like a house, it beckons to you: "Come, you have travelled far, be at ease, breathe, relax." The humble chair, couch, or stool, however, can take on an interestingly sinister character when one stops to ask - why is it empty? Where did the people go? What have these 'normal' objects witnessed, and what memories do they carry in the folds of their faux leather, the screws in their wood, and the hair in their wheels?
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That place which is no longer occupied is a curious thing. The chair not-in-use tells the story of thousands of people that have used it in the past; the story of thousands of people who have left. Please, take a moment to think about the chairs which you have sat on in your lifetime, and the events that have taken place while they sheltered you ‌ And then acknowledge the fact that your story with any particular chair is not necessarily only your story but one you share with many people, in which case, really the chair is the protagonist of our collective seated narrative: it is a kind of silent witness and crucial actor in everyone’s life. This observation is
really strengthened by the chairs which have seemingly fallen out of use, and in a sense, reached the end of their story. All chairs have been designed to sit on, however, based on the space in which the chair is in, its function is defined (cinema chairs as opposed to a medical chair for example), and this space acts as a catalyst for the chair’s life. When the chair is relocated, suddenly its context-based purpose changes, and so too does its function, so what is it exactly that happens when a chair is positioned in a place that renders it not a good place to sit? In the basement of a World War II bunker beneath Berlin's abandoned airport, Tempelhof, a modest wooden chair stands stark in the yellow fluorescence of a single tube overhead. Most of the time, the chair waits quietly in a dustless darkness. The disuse of this chair tells an interesting story, not only of those who once used it and likely feared for their lives from bombers overhead; but also of us now: a kind of optimistic exclamation of the fact that we don't need this chair and that we are not at war.
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In the streets of Berlin, the couch takes on the patterned inscriptions (or differently put: graffiti) of passers-by. Much like the residential building behind, the couch acquires the character of a place of residence not fit for residing in. Autumn leaves that have been collecting create a new upholstery while the traffic rustles past and the bricks come raining down from the construction site overhead. Perhaps in the previous summer the couch’s owner decided to move to another city and couldn't bring their couch with them. By donating their personal place of rest to the public space this couch is neglected and it becomes a symbol for departure. It serves now only as a final resting place for the leaves of autumn, and a canvas for the street artist's self-expression.
In the meantime, three arm chairs convene in the courtyard of abandoned houses of Kizalağaç. The sun scorches their bleached skins and a duvet cover dances in the wind, almost as if to entertain the sitters that are not there. Unlike the chairs of Berlin, who offer a kind of extroverted invitation to the world to come and be seated, the armchairs of Kizalağaç are facing each other, positioned as if to encourage people to meet one another and spend time together. If I were to sit in one of these chairs would a passer-by join me to watch the duvet cover’s terpsichorean abilities? Three chairs facing each other in a lounge represent a place of communion. Now, appearing as if the walls of the lounge have been removed but the chairs remain in exactly the same arrangement, they tell a story of people who no longer see one another.
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And so, we reach the chairs closest to home: The Vitra model .04 office chairs who find themselves residing in atelier. These chairs day in and day out experience the abuse of panicked first years and apathetic second-year bachelor’s students trying to hang up their posters before presentations. And at 22:00 every day, when all students and staff retire to their homes, the Vitra model .04 chairs lie awake in the darkness kept company by only the flickering locker lights and mice who run between their mass-produced plastic wheels. Some unfortunate Vitras have suffered mutilation from particularly bored persons, missing wheels or stabilising screws they stand askew on their fuchsia ground, immobilised, and abandoned until the next morning. 08
Finally, the chairs of our beloved ‘stoelen collectie’ lead perhaps the most alienated existence of all. Standing at full attention, they face a now-blank wall, from which even the painted names have departed. Seeing only on occasion their own shadows moving with the sun they listen to an excitable prospective student spotting Rietveld’s Red and Blue Chair without taking the time to acknowledge the existence of the other chairs. Like animals in a zoo, their true calling has been denied. Caught in limbo, these chairs are not left alone to fade away in the urban fabric of the street, or slowly die in a Turkish breeze, nor may they be used as chairs to sit on; they are preserved in time, carrying only the memories of who they were before they became objects of exhibition.
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