Blue House

Griffiths, S., Jacob, S. and Holland, C. 2002. Blue House. Shoreditch, London.

TitleBlue House
CreatorsGriffiths, S., Jacob, S. and Holland, C.
Description

Griffiths is the main designer in Fashion-Architecture-Taste (FAT), a practice known for their investigations into the contemporary use of popular iconography in architecture, as famously pioneered by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. This innovative live/work building, affectionately known locally as the ‘Blue House’, has a cartoon-like billboard character which communicates its function as a home and office. The front has a miniature scale, but the side addressing the main street is made deliberately big in feel. Built for £300,000, the project deploys an innovative use of standard construction methods. The house contains a maisonette for family of three, an office and a separate apartment. Research issues include how to utilise the program requirements and site conditions to create a type of urban housing that play visually on everyday notions about domesticity, yet how achieve this effect within a restricted budget. The scheme aims to achieve a sustainable design that matches with its innovative cultural reading of contemporary urban lifestyles.

The Blue House has been widely featured in books, including The Buildings of England – London Vol.5: East (Yale, 2005, pp. 113, 598); New Architecture in Britain (Merrell, 2003, p.165); New London Architecture (Merrell, 2005, p.163); Anglo Files: UK Architecture’s Rising Generation (Thames & Hudson, 2005, pp. 112-27); Gritty Brits: New London Architecture (Carnegie Museum of Art, 2007, pp. 54-55). The project has likewise been extensively covered in architectural and national press, including Sunday Times, Financial Times, Independent, Evening Standard, Icon, L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, Building Design, Architecture Today, etc. Furthermore, the Blue House was nominated and shortlisted for the Mies Van der Rohe / European Union Prize for Architecture (2003). FAT is also run along with Sam Jacobs and Charles Holland, but Sean Griffiths was the exclusive designer for this project – his own home.

Year12 Nov 2002
Files
Publication dates
Completed12 Nov 2002
Output mediaDesign

Related outputs

Northampton Contemporary Art
Griffiths, S. 2023. Northampton Contemporary Art.

The Blue House Extension, ReModelling and Refurbishment
Griffiths, S. 2022. The Blue House Extension, ReModelling and Refurbishment. Architects Journal, The Observer, Dezeen.

The Poverty Of Embodiment
Griffiths, S. 2022. The Poverty Of Embodiment. Architecture, Media, Polities Society (AMPS): Lived Space, Past and Present, part of the conference series on Representing Pasts-Visioning Futures. Queens University Belfast 01 - 03 Dec 2022 Architecture, Media, Politics, Society (AMPS) Proceedings Journal Series.

Architecture Without Plans
Griffiths, S. 2020. Architecture Without Plans. in: Soberg, M. and Hougaard, A. (ed.) The Artful Plan Birkhauser. pp. 184-205

Kessels Kramer London
Griffiths, S. 2019. Kessels Kramer London. www.modernarchitect.co.uk

The Politics of Post Modernism
Griffiths, S. 2017. The Politics of Post Modernism. in: Gura, J. (ed.) Postmodern Design Complete London Thames & Hudson. pp. 66-70

Design by Chance
Griffiths, S. 2015. Design by Chance. Freedom and Creativity. Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK 28 - 28 Nov 2015

My Dreams of Levitation
Griffiths, S. 2014. My Dreams of Levitation.

The Progressive Extension of the Field of Individual Development and Experience.
Griffiths, S. 2014. The Progressive Extension of the Field of Individual Development and Experience.

Sliding Gate
Griffiths, S. 2013. Sliding Gate.

The Museum of Copying, Venice Architecture Biennale
Griffiths, S. 2012. The Museum of Copying, Venice Architecture Biennale.

What is radical post-modernism? / post-modernism: an incomplete project
Jencks, C., Griffiths, S., Holland, C. and Jacob, S. 2011. What is radical post-modernism? / post-modernism: an incomplete project. Architectural Design. 81 (5), pp. 14-23. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad.1291

A field guide to radical post-modernism
Griffiths, S., Holland, C. and Jacob, S. 2011. A field guide to radical post-modernism. Architectural Design. 81 (5), pp. 46-61. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad.1294

Re-radicalising post-modernism
Griffiths, S., Holland, C. and Jacob, S. 2011. Re-radicalising post-modernism. Architectural Design. 81 (5), pp. 122-127. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad.1302

FAT projects: manifesting radical post-modernism
Griffiths, S., Holland, C. and Jacob, S. 2011. FAT projects: manifesting radical post-modernism. Architectural Design. 81 (5), pp. 78-89. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad.1297

Virtual corpses, figural sections and resonant fields
Griffiths, S. 2011. Virtual corpses, figural sections and resonant fields. Architectural Design. 81 (5), pp. 68-77. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad.1296

Riverside One, Middlesbrough
Griffiths, S. 2011. Riverside One, Middlesbrough.

The Dara Building (Grote Koppel), Amersfoort, Netherlands
Griffiths, S. 2009. The Dara Building (Grote Koppel), Amersfoort, Netherlands.

Sint Lucas Art Academy
Griffiths, S., Jacob, S. and Holland, C. 2006. Sint Lucas Art Academy. Boxtel, Netherlands.

Islington Square housing project
Griffiths, S., Jacob, S. and Holland, C. 2006. Islington Square housing project. London.

Back to the future: staying with the suburban ideal
Griffiths, S. 2004. Back to the future: staying with the suburban ideal. London, UK CABE/RIBA.

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