C.J. Lim
Practice: Studio 8 Architects
Established: 1994
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
www.cjlim-studio8.com
[email protected]
Studio 8 Architects is a multi-disciplinary award-winning practice in urban design, architecture and landscape, focusing on cultural, social and sustainability issues. C.J. Lim is the founder, and also a professor at the Bartlett School, UCL. In 2006 C.J. was awarded the Royal Academy of Arts Grand Architecture Prize.
Recent projects include eco-cities are for the Chinese and Korean governments, while 'Virtually Venice', commissioned by the British Council for the Venice Architecture Biennale, investigated East-West cultures and identities. Monographs and otherpublications include '441/10...we'll reconfigure your space when you're ready' (1996), 'Sins + Other Spatial Relatives' (2001), 'How Green is Your Garden?' (2003), 'Museums [work in process]' (2004), 'NeoArchitecture: Studio 8 Architects' (2005), 'Virtually Venice' (2006) and 'Smartcities + Eco-warriors' (2010).
Studio 8 Architects
Seasons Through the Looking Glass, V&A, London
Alice's adventure in Wonderland begins with a protracted fall and a landing on desiccated foliage in the Victoria & Albert Museum's Tunnel Entrance. The foliage installation, a tactile intervention, explores the spatial possibilities of a subterranean garden. Its trunk and twigs are constructed from honeycomb paper sandwich panels, its flowers from rolled recycled garments that change to reflect the seasons. Come autumn, the gardeners will daub the fair white roses of spring with hues of crimson and auburn.
| Do you think our profession is diverse enough? | No, we must support and champion a much broader environmental-design discourse. |
| Who are your role models who inspire you? | W. Heath Robinson, the English cartoonist, whose ingenious illustrations have redefined spatial possibilities. Others include Italo Calvino ('Invisible Cities'), Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'), and Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez ('Strange Pilgrims'). |
| If you could change one thing in our profession, what would it be? | It would be healthier if there were greater generosity within the profession. |