The Clerkenwell Design Week unfortunately draws to a close this evening, but there's just enough time left for those interested in design and architecture to explore the marathon of design goodness on streets of EC1 before it's swept up in time for the bank holiday weekend. One particularly inspiring piece that all Londoners should at least consider checking out this afternoon is the Glaze Pavilion by local studio Cousins & Cousins. The pavilion draws on the heritage of Clerkenwell as a centre of design and manufacture, and offers a journey through a selection of colourful glass products that vary dramatically in size and colour.
The Glaze Pavilion by local studio Cousins & Cousins is a definite highlight of this year's Clerkenwell Design Week
The result is a walk through a genuine visual wonder, and one of the most eye-catching installations at this year's Clerkenwell Design Week. The inspiration was supposedly provided by Venetian glass sweets, and features a mixture of coloured and patterned glazed glass that visitors are free to stroll through at their leisure. The unique, public pavilion has been drawing admiring glances from its location in St John's Square at the heart of Clerkenwell since Tuesday morning (19 May) when the three day festivities kicked off. The installation was created in collaboration with glass manufacturer Gx Glass, and not only highlights the versatility of interior glass, but does so in a colourful and eye-catching manner, whilst showing off a variety of glassmaking techniques.
The inspiration for the structure was supposedly provided by Venetian glass sweets, and features a mixture of coloured and patterned glazed glass
The steel-framed structure is built with glass walls and a glass roof. Back-painted and ceramic-printed glass was used to create opaque and transparent surfaces, with some panels featuring vibrant shades of pink and yellow, and others printed with various geometric patterns. Two tapered ends form entrances on both sides, and are reminiscent of the splayed ends of a wrapped sweet.
Gx Glass at Clerkenwell Design Week
The structure was designed by husband and wife duo Ben and Jelena Cousins, founders and co-owners at Cousins & Cousins. Ben said of the pavilion's unique design: “We very much liked the glass sweets that you can find in Venice, with their multicoloured layers of glass. We thought, what better way to show off Gx Glass' full spectrum of products than to have a glass pavilion inspired by this beautiful Venetian glass sweet. So that was the genesis of the idea and it evolved into what we see today, this multicoloured jewel.” Cousins added: “The two types of glass we use represent two different types of manufacturing. The glass manufacturer we worked with is known for coloured splash backs, so we used that for the colour-backed glass. The more transparent panels use a ceramic-printed technology. That's how we managed to create all the patterns on the glass.”
The structure was designed by husband and wife duo Ben and Jelena Cousins, and is a steel-framed structure with glass walls and a glass roof
He said the shape of the structure was dreamt up by his wife. “One of the key things that Jelena was really keen on achieving here was the effect of narrowing perspective as you walk,” he said. “The whole structure is tapered, so it gets smaller and narrower as you arrive into the centre of the space. Then it opens up again in the middle.” He also added: “We tried to keep it as slender as possible (which is always the battle with structural engineers) to retain the elegance of the structure, which I think we've achieved really successfully.”
The pavilion will remain in place for the duration of Clerkenwell Design Week and is being used to host a programme of events
The pavilion will remain in place for the duration of Clerkenwell Design Week and is being used to host a programme of events, including a drawing workshop, which encourages children to draw straight onto the glazed panels, as their marks can be easily wiped away. Some panels are also magnetic so paper images can be mounted onto the walls. Once the event is over this evening, the glazed components will be demounted and recycled. So if you're in the area (and even if you're not), we highly recommend stopping by Clerkenwell this afternoon. And we're not just saying that because we happen to be a specialist partner this year!
