One for the road! - Endless Stair at the Tate Modern

Endless Stair by dRMM Architects

The reason for the beginning part of this titled post is that its my last post before I fly out to Senegal this Saturday! I've got a 6 months placement with an architectural design firm Atelier De'architecture which i'm looking forward to..

Last week my friend and I thought we would go take a visit to the Tate Modern as it had been a while since we both went. When we got to the former power station I couldn't help but notice a large amount of wood on the right of the Tate (I'm really short sighted!). As I walked closer towards it I then saw what it was, they called it the 'Endless Stair' which is the appropriate name as the interlocking staircases made from American tulipwood (CLT) wasn't going anywhere in particular, there was no end destination once you climbed the stairs, but the view along the River Thames.

More stairs..

Enjoy the view

The sculpture is the Landmark Project for the London Design Festival 2013. The piece allows the public to explore and analyse the structure designed my dRMM Architects. This was my first time seeing timber being used to this extent, it looked sustainable not in need of other materials for support. I think I underestimated the material as Alex de Rijke (Co-Founder of dRMM Architects) describes timber as 'the new concrete'. Who knows maybe we will see more use of organic grown materials like American tulipwood in the near future.

Inside the forever changing modern art gallery, the open space Turbine Hall was closed as works continue for the re-opening early next year. My favourite exhibition this trip was the Transformed Visions which showed the way artist chose to respond to the violence and war or of historical wars and battleships. A change I noticed and took part in was the gallery's new interactive board (that is opposite the cafe) the public could use to create work or their own, which could either express the time spent in the gallery or just a completely random drawing, which is then submitted by you onto the interactive wall that is shared with others work, a great idea as the people make the most of the experience/ time spent in the Tate Modern.




Photography by Mia Powell

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