In his chef d’oeuvre The Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard explores the innate psychological connection between our childhood home and the house of our dreams: “Sometimes the house of the future is better built, lighter and larger than all the houses of the past, so that the image of the dream house is opposed to that of the childhood home… For a house that was final, one that stood in symmetrical relation to the house we were born in, would lead to thoughts — serious, sad thoughts — and not to dreams.”
A reduction of scale may serve to better understand this line of reasoning. As an expression of the history of the home, everyday lives, and family relationships, dollhouses are more than a mere plaything but a proper architectural fantasy. In conjunction with the exhibition Small Stories: At Home in a Dolls’ House, which explores the stories of 12 of the “UK’s best-loved doll’s houses,” the V&A Museum of Childhood has invited 20 designers to create a miniature room in a dollhouse template: a one-foot-square wooden box contains “an ideal or fantasy home for 2015.”
“Bermondsey Studio” by East London Furniture, Reuben Le Prevost and Jessica Sutton. Photo courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
“Dolls’ houses can be autobiographical or create fantastical worlds,” said the curator Alice Sage. “The experience of peeking into the tiny rooms and seeing all the meticulous detail is fascinating for children and adults, and hopefully everyone will discover something new.” The Dream Houses mark the finale of the exhibition, which also explores the themes “Thinking Small” and “Bigger Histories.”
© V&A Photo Studio
“Offline Hideaway” by Dominic Wilcox. Photo courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Dominic Wilcox’s symbolic nest, “Offline Hideaway,” recalls Bachelard as a provisional, unstable equilibrium; Its uprightness defines the box of 30 cm where aloft, where you find a getaway for your creativity. “I bought some dolls’ house furniture from a young woman who was leaving for university and needed to clear out her room,” says the British designer. “In my piece, a girl lays on a sofa reading, at the top of a precarious-looking stack of furniture. A tiny laptop is used to prop the leg of a wobbly chair.”
“If you don’t know where you’re going…” by PearsonLloyd. Photo courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
The surrealistic world of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland underpins PearsonLloyd’s “If you don’t know where you’re going…” Professionally known for their work in wayfinding, Tom Lloyd and Luke Pearson’s minimalist mise is meant to represent a portal to Lewis Carroll’s dream world — the titular quote comes from the Cheshire Cat himself — and the composition of plastic fluo tubes inspires the abstract access to the unknown.
“A Night in the Studio” by Ina Hyun K Shin. Photo courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Tangible and tied to everyday considerations, Ina Hyun K Shin’s “A Night in the Studio,” reflects the metamorphosis when a house becomes both an office and a workshop. Materials are mixed in a patchwork of functions without clearly defined spaces. “I spend great amount of time in the studio daily. It has almost become a second home now, so it was natural for me to imagine a tiny workroom showing part of my work progress and material,” says the designer. “My work involves lots of leather-cutting and joining all the little pieces together, creating angles, lines, and geometric patterns inspired by traditional parquetry and mosaic.”
“The Longest Party Table in the World” by PriestmanGoode. Photo courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
“Monsters in the Pantry” by Peter Marigold. Photo courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
See all of the rooms, designed by the likes of Paul Priestman, Nancy Edwards, Dionne Sylvester, Design K, Jessica Hayman, and many more, on the “Dream House” website or at the V&A Museum of Childhood, where Small Stories: At Home in a Dolls’ House will be on view until September 6 before traveling to the States.