Hairywood installation in Covent Garden London

Hairywood, the surprising urban tower designed by 6a Architects and fashion designers Eley Kishimoto is to take residence in Covent Garden Piazza this summer. The six-metre tower, originally conceived to promote The Architecture Foundation’s temporary gallery, plays with ideas of defining space and creating place and will allow visitors to climb up and have a new perspective over the Piazza.

It forms part of Skin + Bones at Somerset House, an exhibition paralleling the relationship between fashion and architecture.

Covent Garden Piazza becomes the latest platform to explore the relationship between busy public space and private enclosures. Hairywood’s residency on the Piazza represents a new relationship between Covent Garden and Somerset House, and will mark a route between the two locations. A model of the installation can be seen in the Skin + Bones exhibition, exploring the ever-closer relationship between architecture and fashion.

Hairywood takes the form of a periscope, a tower embellished with a carved pattern inspired by Rapunzel’s hair, leading to a small elevated cabin which will be an intimate space overlooking the Piazza. Inspiration came from Jacques Tati’s Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1958), in which the intimacy of Hulot’s hotel exterior is juxtaposed with the chaos of the public beach.

Following Spring Renaissance, the exhibit is a continuation of a rolling programme of activities at Covent Garden London.

Hairywood at Covent Garden London, June 20th- July 20th.