Sir John Soane’s Museum presents proposal B by Peter Salter and Fenella Collingridge as part of the London Festival of Architecture. Originally conceived for and displayed at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018, proposal B blurs the distinctions between furniture, art and architecture to create a literal and metaphorical platform for conversation and interaction.
Informed by historical precedents such as the medieval ‘poche’ window seats of Stokesay Castle, proposal B offers a place in which to think or converse, acting as a smaller domestic space within the Soane Museum. Proposal B also speaks to the broader practice of architects Peter Salter and Fenella Collingridge, combining construction and craftsmanship to create an object that retains the self-contained quality of a larger architectural work.
Museum visitors are invited to sit within the space created by proposal B and manipulate its moving parts. In this way, proposal B challenges the notion of museums as places solely about looking at objects, instead seeing them social spaces that encourage participation and interaction – an idea very much in keeping with Soane’s conception of the Museum as an ‘academy of architecture’ that fosters debate and discussion.
Proposal B project team:
Peter Salter, Fenella Collingridge
Shaw Building Group
Daren Bye
Noel O’Connor (Shaw Joinery)