Architectural Association School of Architecture

Manijeh Verghese

Atrium ViewClick image to view at full-size

Saatchi arrives, pausing on the grand staircase to survey his domain. In the background, behind the perforated walls, employees quiver with fear or quicken their pace to appear busy.

Urban woundsClick image to view at full-size

Urban research uncovered an unexpected pattern in the heart of Soho. The study involved the mapping of public space eroded out of buildings that was appropriated by the street space thereby shifting the threshold of the building inwards. The hypothesis was that around large public areas a greater level of erosion would be found. While this is true for Piccadilly Circus, there is limited erosion around nearby Golden Square due to its occupation by media and advertising agencies whose lobbies remain imposing, unwelcoming spaces to the general public.

M+C Saatchi - Brutal Simulation of TruthClick image to view at full-size

The final brief: creating an advertising agency in Golden Square that manifests the true hierarchical nature of the organisation and heightens the tensions within between the glamorous world and the corresponding backend sweatshop

Wrapped WoundsClick image to view at full-size

Two seemingly oppositional surfaces when viewed in elevation merge into one another when unravelled. the relationship between the black and the white sides of the model is constantly in flux as it is viewed in the round. the wound is the threshold between the patterns that is hidden once the surface is rewrapped.

Street ViewClick image to view at full-size

Pattern is strategically applied according to the viewpoint of Maurice Saatchi.

Manipulation of Brick Stacking and Bond DistanceClick image to view at full-size

By altering the courses of the brick in addition to the bond distance along each individual course, the material is able to create effect of depth and counterdepth whereby larger apertures due to double-layered stacking signify areas that seem to be in the foreground while decreasing bond distance indicates a possible receding perspective.

Divergent CornerClick image to view at full-size

Material studies in brick to translate illusory qualities relating to depth perception. One would expect a corner to close off as it converges but instead, this corner opens up at its intersection, expanding porously to let light through.

Scalar DisparityClick image to view at full-size

The section shows the variation in scale between the triple or quadruple-height soaring spaces of Maurice Saatchi and the small, cellular residual space for his employees.

Patterns of UseClick image to view at full-size

The processional route through the spaces occupied by Maurice Saatchi along with the changing patterning of the surfaces that define these spaces

Executive Bar ViewClick image to view at full-size

Clouds of smoke rise, high profile clients sit waiting while junior executives attempt to entertain them. Suddenly Maurice Saatchi appears along a walkway from one of his private rooms. He reigns supreme. This is his world.