The House of 19
The House of 19 is a conceptual work which fulfils the 19 essential living requirements of Icelandic artist Thorvaldur Thorsteinsson, his immediate family and their collected artefacts. It is built in no specific location on no specific site and may be equated with a data-disc containing essential information and elements of human reference for universal application The house has no view and a television provides a constant supply of curiosities for the seasoned window-gazer. Conscious of the filtered quality of the electronic media the artist daily checks his position relative to the stars and simultaneously takes precise climatic readings.
The members of the family often do different things in a series of spaces distributed around a ramp. These spaces can be further subdivided by padded curtains to provide the required acoustic, visual, thought or olfactory privacy. As generous provision for rest is as essential for bodily health as changes in level the curtains can be taken down and lounged upon.
The house is a model of the relationship between architect, client and building with the drawings and model representing the completed object. thus as lines were inked and card cut it became increasingly hard to make changes. Now the artist often writes of the life within the house.....
Client : Architecture Foundation, London
Architects : Studio Granda
Collaborating artist : Thorvaldur Thorsteinsson
