Inspired by Donna Haraway's book “Staying with the Trouble”, this project imagines an interdisciplinary institute where artists, architects, and scientists come together to explore new responses to the ecological challenges of the Anthropocene. Through annual residencies, the Institute fosters collaboration across species and disciplines, encouraging “response-ability” and symbiotic ways of living.
Located in the London Borough of Harrow, the site sits between the University of Westminster, Northwick Park Hospital, and Northwick Park, creating opportunities for cross-sector partnerships and engagement with local ecosystems.
The typology of the building takes cues from Mixotricha paradoxa, a poster organism for sympoiesis. It is a single celled organism that is comprised of five symbiotic entities. Imagined as a spatial diagram, it provided clues as to what the interior layout of the building could look like.
A layered façade with inner and outer rows of columns acts as a sheltering “membrane”, akin to a living organism. This in-between space houses circulation and more permanent infrastructure, while the interior of the building consists of a vast, open-plan area, divided by curtains and ephemeral partitions to allow for maximum flexibility of uses and activities.
Public exhibitions and lectures at the end of each residency share knowledge generated throughout the year.