00029 Acts of Activism, London 2022     00028 Wilcox Road, London 2022     00027 Knock Knock in Knokke, Knokke 2022     00026 AJ Pavilion for All, London 2022    00025 Artist Studio, London 2022     00024 6x6 Home for the Suburbcular, London, 2022     00023 Slow Logs, Tallinn, 2022     00022 Windflower, London, 2021       00021 Rock Paper Scissors, London, 2021      00020 The Cyprus Pavilion, 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, 2021      00019 House for Two Painters in Hackney, London, 2020       00018 House for a Painter in Ghana, Aburi, 2020        00017 Wind Pavilion, Brighton, 2020        0016 A Tapestry for Malmi Park, Helsinki, 2020        0015 Angler’s Hut, Winnipeg, 2020        0014 University Campus for Human Rights, Vienna, 2020        0013 Salina Archipelago Park, Larnaca, 2020        0012 Play, Walk, March: Power Walks!, London, 2020        0011 To The Singing Whale, Falkland Islands, 2020        0010 Hou Gou Fondue, Vevey, 2019        0009 Fragments of Waltham Forest, London, 2019        0008 LFA Roly Poly, London, 2019        0007 Wanderoll, Bang Lamung, 2019        0006 Pixelboom, London, 2019       0005 Floating Cinema, London, 2019        0004 Crossroads, Milton Keynes, 2019        0003 Bench It, London, 2019        0002 Anteberg, London, 2019.      0001 Free Play, London, 2019
Roly Poly revives and reinterprets elements of the Royal Docks’ history to create a playful and interactive rocking bench for the London Festival of Architecture.

Blocks of cork were laminated and robotically machined to form the main body of the bench whilst a concrete base was used to balance the centre of mass so that after rigorous tilting the bench is able to correct itself into an upright position, eliminating the need for ground anchoring.

The design draws inspiration from the buoys which signaled and guided boats through the river and docks. Standing freely and lightly rocking, these became landmarks of a remarkably rich era in which London development was powered by infrastructure along the River Thames and today can be seen as freestanding monuments.

Futhering this connection to the past is a handle dressed in rope made from human hair, handcrafted by Dutch designer and material researcher Sanne Visser, which re-interprets and celebrates the craft of marine rope making and the once prominent boat yards of Royal Docks, while giving the bench a contrasting layer of tactility and softness.
Roly Poly Rocking Bench, London, 2019           
Mandarin Street, Royal Docks, London E16 2YP
Client: London Festival of Architecture

Collaborators: Millimetre, Sanne Visser


















 
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