By Leah Linhares
Photography: Courtesy V2com
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An ingenious structural art
work dubbed: The 2 Girls Building, by internationally acclaimed duo Kavellaris
Urban Design (KUD) and artist Samantha Everton, lets spectators indulge in a public
artistic feast by the roadside…
Located in Abbotsford,
Australia, the mixed-use building fuses three very creative domains - art, photography and architecture in a
single structure. The project was designed to explore the relationship between
the three disciplines but ultimately blurred the respective boundaries of each,
resulting in one craft overlapping the other and seizing the characteristics of
the others in the form of a new medium.
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As a result, architecture
became photography, while photography became architecture and the building became
a hybrid urban artefact within a built environment.
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To ensure an integration of
the art forms, KUD teamed up with celebrated Australian artist Samantha
Everton. The collaboration injected another layer of complexity: unintentional role
swapping. The boundaries of the ingenious alliance were blurred, which then led
to redefining ‘the artist’ and ‘the architect’ as one entity. This synergy
spawned a hybrid typology, which ensured that the eerie yet striking ‘photo-architectural-art’
prevailed.
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Grabbing every eyeball, be
it from the pavement or distance, is “Masquerade” from Samantha Everton’s
‘Vintage Dolls’; these life like figures featured on the building façade were
specifically selected for their familiar vernacular, which is synonymous with inner city’s
traditional domestic spaces and more importantly, for the drama and theatre it
provides to the public realm.
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A well-planned proposal by
the architects facilitated the primary circulation space to double as a de
facto art gallery with art work on display, dividing the offices, warehouse
spaces and residential apartments.
The 2 Girls Building is the
recipient of the 2015 International Leaf Awards-Best Mixed-use Building.
Awesome!!
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