architecture office explores wallpaper in big will and friends installation

architecture office explores wallpaper in big will and friends installation
above image by architecture office, all others courtesy of ioana turcan

architecture office — led by nicole mcintosh and jonathan louie — investigates the social aspects of wallpaper in ‘big will and friends’. the spatial intervention consists of an uncomfortably large structure consisting of three 7′ x 7′ foot rooms. besides the slim PVC framing, ‘big will and friends’ is defined entirely by the repetition of an abstracted variant of morris & co.’s ‘thistle’ wallpaper.

‘big will and friends’

the complex decorative effect created, along with an accompanying performance, is intended to explore the relationships between art, architecture, and mass consumption. ‘big will and friends’ calls for an embracement of the temporal qualities of domestic decor, placing value once again in appearance rather than substance, ephemeral in lieu of longevity. ‘big will and friends’ was made possible by support from the macdowell colony, syracuse university school of architecture, and the college of visual + performing arts. 

looking through the installation’s three-part construction 

performers standing within the intervention 
image: architecture office

dancers participating in ‘big will and friends’ 

looking through the abstracted ‘thistle’ wall paper 

accompanying murals are by syracuse faculty stephen zaima; titled, ‘dystopia’ and ‘blueprint-footprint’

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions  feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: nick brink | designboom