Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Downland Gridshell - 10 years


The Downland Gridshell at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum is 10 years old this year. 'Cluster' an exhibition at Fabrica and a special report edition of Unstructured, celebrate the anniversary of the Gridshell.

Fabrica is Brighton's leading contemporary Art Gallery and 'Cluster' is an exhibition of woven forms by artist and basket maker, Annemarie O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan's organic forms take inspiration from the Downland Gridshell and are made from the engineered Sweet Chestnut material pioneered by the Flimwell Woodland Enterprise Centre, also celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.



Unstructured, the web-magazine portal of Fourth Door, features articles making the connection between the woven forms of the two gridshells, traditional basketry and the emerging field of art-related basket makers, and a number of land artists, whose work focuses on woven, basket-like 'wild' structures made in and on the land. Highlights include:

The Downland Gridshell ten years on - Project Architect Steve Johnson has written an extensive overview of the building's genesis

Cluster overview and Annemarie O'Sullivan feature - these complementary pieces outline the connections and overlaps between the projects different elements

Cullinan's timber path after the Downland Gridshell - how Edward Cullinan Architects have continued with timber architecture since the Downland Gridshell, culminating (so far) in the recent John Hope Gateway at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.

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