Look! Look! Look! in Herefordshire by Studio Morison

Article source: Studio Morison

Look! Look! Look! sees a striking sculptural pavilion created by internationally renowned artists Heather and Ivan Morison (Studio Morison) take centre stage at the National Trust’s historic Berrington Hall in Herefordshire.

Image Courtesy © Ivan Morison

• Architects: Studio Morison
• Project: Look! Look! Look!
• Location: Berrington Hall, Leominster, Herefordshire, USA
• Photography: Marsha Arnold / Ivan Morison
• Gross Built Area (square meters or square foot): 100m2
• Completion Year: 2017

Image Courtesy © Ivan Morison

The dusty pink structure inhabits the walled garden at the Georgian mansion, highlighting the importance of this piece of ‘living history’ as the final masterpiece by iconic Georgian landscape designer Capability Brown. The artists were inspired by the popularity of garden buildings or ‘eye-catchers’ such as these in the Georgian era. The folded form of the structure echoes the geometric shapes found in the interior design of the mansion, and it also bears more than a passing resemblance to a pineapple – inspired by eighteenth-century traditions of importing exotic fruit, particularly pineapples which are thought to have been once grown at Berrington.

Image Courtesy © Ivan Morison

The artists spent more than a year researching Berrington’s Georgian history and the significance of the walled garden which would have been used as a symbol of the family’s wealth, cultivation and contemporariness. The resulting work tries to reconnect with some of the fundamental ideas, themes and activities that were present in the Georgian garden, to trace them out to wider Georgian life, and specifically back to Berrington Hall and the National Trust’s collection.

Image Courtesy © Ivan Morison

The artists first designed the structure in paper using origami, then worked with structural engineers, Artura, to bring the designs to life. The pavilion is built using a sunken metal foundation frame, held with screw anchors, with a timber structure over-laid with a special woven fabric, supplied by Mermet, which can withstand all weathers – in a pink colour chosen from a traditionally Georgian palette.

Image Courtesy © Ivan Morison

The structure was broken down into 90 frames; each made up of an intricate jigsaw of cnc’d timber pieces, constructed at the artists’ studios. The fabric was pulled over and fixed to each rhomboid and then assembled on site in the walled garden. The wooden cobbled floor is made from timber which is cut, brunt and then oiled to make it weather-resistant.

Image Courtesy © Studio Morison

The final piece looks strong and sculptural from far away, but takes on a translucent appearance from inside. The artists have also created bespoke, sculptural furniture housed inside the pavilion which echoes the geometric form of the structure.

Both beautiful and functional, Look! Look! Look! is open to the public until December 2019 and will house a programme of events and activities including music and yoga. The project also marks the start of Berrington’s plans to raise funds to research and restore its walled garden back to its Georgian origins.

Image Courtesy © Studio Morison

Look! Look! Look! Is part of Trust New Art – the National Trust’s programme of projects are developed in partnership with Arts Council England, making new works by established and emerging artists available in unique and historic settings.

Image Courtesy © Studio Morison

Berrington Hall

Berrington Hall is an 18th-century mansion with Capability Brown designed garden and parkland and was acquired by the National Trust in 1957. The Hall was designed and created by architect ‘Henry Holland’s and features fine Neo – Classical interiors and an almost fully intact below stairs collection of servant spaces. More information about Berrington hall can be found here.

Image Courtesy © Studio Morison

Heather and Ivan Morison

STUDIO MORISON founders Heather Peak and Ivan Morison have worked together as an artist duo, under the name Heather and Ivan Morison, since 2003, establishing an ambitious collaborative practice that transcends the divisions between art, architecture and theatre. STUDIO MORISON facilitates their practice and the projects that flow from it. More information about STUDIO MORISON can be found here.

Image Courtesy © Studio Morison

About the National Trust

The National Trust is a conservation charity founded in 1895 by three people who saw the importance of our nation’s heritage and open spaces, and wanted to preserve them for everyone to enjoy. More than 120 years later, these values are still at the heart of everything the charity does.
Entirely independent of Government, the National Trust looks after more than 250,000 hectares of countryside, 775 miles of coastline and hundreds of special places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
More than 20 million people visit every year, and together with 4.5 million members and over 62,000 volunteers, they help to support the charity in its work to care for special places forever, for everyone.

Image Courtesy © Studio Morison

About National Trust’s ‘Trust New Art’ Programme

Trust New Art is the National Trust’s programme of contemporary arts inspired by our places. Many of our places were built with art at their heart. To continue this important creative legacy, we created our Trust New Art programme in 2009 in partnership with Arts Council England. The programme makes contemporary arts available in National Trust properties; builds new and diverse audiences; and offers new opportunities for artists to work in different contexts. To find out more about Trust New Art visit.

Image Courtesy © Studio Morison

Tags: Herefordshire, USA

Categories: Garden, Pavilion

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