Established by architect Alex Mustonen and artist Daniel Arsham in 2008, New York design studio Snarkitecture occupies an enthralling grey area between the worlds of art and architecture. In the relatively short space of ten years, its founders’ unique talent for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary has seen the practice rack up an impressive list of clients across the globe, including collaborations with COS, Kith, Valextra, Calvin Klein and Adidas to name just a few.
As it continues to expand, Mustonen and Arsham, together with partner Benjamin Porto, agreed that now seemed like the perfect time to debut its a monograph.
‘It felt like a good time to start framing our work,’ reflects Mustonen. ‘When you’re in amongst it, it becomes your day to day and it can become difficult to take a step back and reassess, or take a critical view. This exercise really helped us do that.’
Published by Phaidon, the tome showcases 70 projects from Snarkitecture’s mostly monochrome portfolio and explores how its experimental and multidisciplinary approach has turned them into one of the world’s most sought-after design studios.
Snarkitecture has collaborated with an impressive list of clients over the years, including COS, Kith, Valextra, Calvin Klein, Adidas and Pepsi.
‘It started as an experiment,’ explains Mustonen. ‘There wasn’t any set agenda or business plan apart from the basic conceptual framework, which was that right from the beginning our goal was to create a collaboration between the disciplines of art and architecture. To come up with these outlandish experiential concepts and then find ways of bringing them into the world.’
From product and furniture design to interiors and large-scale installations, the book’s 400 visuals document projects such as the firm’s design for the Design Miami collectors fair tent, which it clad in white sausage-shaped inflatables; a cave-like space made from excavating blocks of Styrofoam for the Storefront for Art & Architecture; and the very Instagram-friendly ‘beach’ installation at the National Building Museum in Washington DC, where the studio filled the grand hall with almost a million translucent balls to create a ‘sea’ in which visitors could frolic.
Milan-based curator Maria Cristina Didero provides the book’s introduction, a conversation among Mustonen, Arsham and Benjamin Porto which provides insight into the thought processes behind their creative methods. For detail fans, the book’s ‘Technical Index’ features architectural drawings of every project. Some may also recognise the book’s topographical torn paper cover design, which the studio debuted as a wallpaper with Brooklyn brand Calico last year. Photography is by Noah Kalina, while Neil Donnelly created the book’s design.
‘We chose a fairly unorthodox structure for the book,’ explains Mustonen. ‘Instead of grouping projects by theme we used an open-ended spectrum such as “not art” and “not architecture” as all of our work falls in between those spaces. It was helpful for us to think about the projects on this linear spectrum.’
Looking to the future, Mustonen revealed the studio has some permanent as well as large-scale works in its sights, the first of which will be unveiled at Salone del Mobile (17-22 April). Working in collaboration with quartz surface manufacturer Caesarstone, Snarkitecture will present a large-scale installation titled ‘Altered States’, that promises to explores the changing states of water in the context of the modern kitchen.
The new tome showcases 70 projects from Snarkitecture’s portfolio, exploring its experimental and multidisciplinary approach to design. Pictured: Dancing Columns.
A ‘Technical Index’ features inside the book with architectural drawings of every project
Water Clouds, 2017 for Stella Artois, New York, USA.
Light Cavern, 2015, for COS in Milan. Courtesy Snarkitecture
COS Los Angeles store, 2015
‘Broken Mirror’ by Snarkitecture and Gufram, 2017.
‘Playhouse’ at Exhibit Colombus, 2017.
INFORMATION
Snarkitecture, £49.95, published by Phaidon. For more information, visit the Snarkitecture website
-
Olfactory Art Keller: the New York gallery exhibiting the smell of vintage perfume, blossoming lilacs and last night’s shameOlfactory Art Keller is a Manhattan-based gallery space dedicated to exhibiting scent as art. Founder Dr Andreas Keller speaks with Lara Johnson-Wheeler about the project, which doesn’t shy away from the ‘unpleasant’
-
Explore a barn conversion with a difference on the Isle of WightGianni Botsford Architects' barn conversion transforms two old farm buildings into an atmospheric residence and artistic retreat, The Old Byre
-
Audi launches AUDI, a China-only sub-brand, with a handsome new EV conceptThe AUDI E previews a new range of China-specific electric vehicles from the German carmaker’s new local sub-brand
-
One to Watch: designer Valerie Name infuses contemporary objects and spaces with historical detailFrom vessels to furnishings and interiors, New York- and Athens-based designer Valerie Name finds new relevance for age-old craft techniques
-
First look: Matthew Fisher opens the doors to his first gallery in ManhattanHistory, design, and environmental consciousness converge at M. Fisher in New York City, offering an experience that is as meaningful as it is visually striking
-
Cooper Hewitt’s ‘Making Home’ triennial reveals an intimate side of the museum’s Gilded Age architecture'We live and work in the Carnegie Mansion, but it's not typically something that we engage with directly in our exhibitions,' says Alexandra Cunningham-Cameron, one of the co-curators
-
Forged in the California desert, Jonathan Cross’ brutalist ceramic sculptures go on show in NYCJoshua Tree-based artist Jonathan Cross’ sci-fi-influenced works are on view at Elliott Templeton Fine Arts in New York's Chinatown
-
Italian designer Enrico Marone Cinzano fuses natural perfection with industrial imperfectionEnrico Marone Cinzano's first solo show at New York’s Friedman Benda gallery debuts collectible furniture designs that marry organic materials with upcycled industrial components
-
New York exhibition celebrates Maria Pergay, the ‘pioneer’ of metal furniture‘Precious Strength: Maria Pergay Across the Decades’ is on show at New York gallery Demisch Danant (until 30 November)
-
One to Watch: Brooklyn studio Outgoing gives new meaning to the idea of world buildingLife and creative partners Brett Gui Xin and Del Hardin Hoyle from Outgoing blur the lines between craft and concept in experimental designs that have the potential for greater application
-
Discover the alchemy of American artists Philip and Kelvin LaVerneThe work of Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, prized by collectors of 20th-century American art, is the subject of a new book by gallerist Evan Lobel; he tells us more
