TYIN lekestue

TYIN tegnestue Architects TYIN lekestue Location: Oslo, Norway Curator: National Museum of Arts, Architecture and Design Project: TYIN lekestue Period: May 2013 Built by: TYIN tegnestue and Pasi Aalto Architects: Andreas Grøntvedt Gjertsen Yashar Hanstad Project Description Under 40 – Ung, norsk arkitektur was an exhibition meant to highlight the work of young, norwegian architects and their offices. The premise of the exhibition was simple and of a predetermined nature. Each of the eleven offices were given a small, wooden module consisting of three walls, within which to present the identity of the office in whatever manner they felt fitting. The concept of the exhibition felt a bit unnatural to us. Inviting us to showcase our identity as architects, while the very framework of the exhibition already had a strong identity, had us a bit conflicted. The design was preset, the shape was already given. We wanted to stick with our own mode of work, taking what is already there and making something of it. We used the three wooden walls that were given to us, and decided to form our contribution solely based on them. From these walls we created the playroom, leaving the outline of the walls intact. The imprint of the working process became immediately visible through the empty silhouettes left in the walls and their visual link to the basic furniture of the playroom. Through this process we transformed the walls from passive surfaces into a small room inviting activity, play and creativity. Treating the visitor as a passive recipient of visual representation is, in our opinion, one of the major shortcomings in many contemporary exhibitions of architecture. It was the hope of our contribution to mend this in a small way and reintroduce usage into the exhibition, while also making it more child-friendly.