Cast into a skip in a car-parking space is a cartoon house by artist Richard Wood. It’s a suprising addition to Hoxton square in London, but Skip Gallery has a reputation for popping up in unexpected places – from residential squares to commercial districts of the city.
This installation, opening for the occasion of the London Festival of Architecture and running for the month of June, is titled ‘Upgrade’.
‘Shaping and altering our immediate surroundings is a fundamental part of being alive,’ says Woods, who hopes that the piece will make people question their surroundings and context of Hoxton square in a new way.
The project is a follow up from his ‘Holiday Home’ installation conceived for the Folkstone Triennial in 2017. This saw the arrival of six bright bungalows across the coastal town bringing attention to housing issues across the UK such as second-home ownership and the national housing shortage.
Richard Woods (centre) with Skip Gallery founders Lee Baker and Catherine Borowski. Photography: Ali Tovery
Sketches by Richard Woods for the project design
Richard Woods’ ‘Upgrade’ installed at Skip Gallery in Hoxton Square
The installation of ‘Upgrade’ by Richard Woods
INFORMATION
‘Upgrade’ is on view until 30 June. For more information, visit the Skip Gallery website
ADDRESS
Skip Gallery
The parking space opposite 19 Hoxton Square
London
N1 6PB
-
‘Just beneath the surface there’s another world’: How David Lynch used hair and make-up to create his singular universeFrom Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive to Twin Peaks, David Lynch used hair and make-up in his films as a narrative device, writes Laura Havlin
-
Burns Night 2025: where to celebrate in LondonIt is time to raise a wee dram to Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns on Burns Night (25 January). Here is our pick of places to enjoy an evening of generous speechmaking, toasting, and drinking around London
-
Tag Heuer unveils sporty new collections at LVMH Watch Week 2025Tag Heuer has announced a series of new watches at LVMH Watch Week, including Formula 1 and Carrera editions
-
This revamped east London terraced house is a music lover’s dreamAn east London terraced house gets a boost of personality and sustainability thanks to Archmongers, whose transformation makes room for the owners’ creativity and extensive record collection
-
This elegant infill project slots beautifully into the London streetscapeIn this infill project, a row of garages in Blackheath, south-east London, has been replaced by a contemporary family home by local practice Mailen Design
-
Don’t Move, Improve 2025: the 14 London homes adding design oomph to the everydayThe shortlist for Don’t Move, Improve 2025 has been announced, revealing 14 residential projects across London that add value and pizazz to their inhabitants’ daily lives
-
Space House: explore the brutalist London landmark’s new chapterSpace House, a landmark of brutalist architecture by Richard Seifert & Partners in London’s Covent Garden, is back following a 21st-century redesign by Squire & Partners and developer Seaforth Land
-
Fire-damaged Walworth Town Hall shows off majestic transformationWalworth Town Hall gets a much-needed reimagining by Feix & Merlin, who transformed the heritage building into a contemporary workspace and a hub of its local community in south London
-
Hanif Kara on building materials, the transition from old to new, and a healthy dose of realismHanif Kara, co-founder of structural engineering practice AKT II, discusses building materials and the future of sustainability
-
Year in review: the top 12 houses of 2024, picked by architecture director Ellie StathakiThe top 12 houses of 2024 comprise our finest and most read residential posts of the year, compiled by Wallpaper* architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki
-
A brutalist garden revived: the case of the Mountbatten House grounds by Studio Knight StokoeTour a brutalist garden redesign by Studio Knight Stokoe at Mountbatten House, a revived classic in Basingstoke, UK
