Monterey Cypress, hand turned to create each timber element, is blackened with the application of Shou Sugi Ban, a traditional Japanese wood burning technique, inspired by Daruma Kuy an annual Daruma doll burning ceremony, to achieve the charring effect which naturally protects the timber. Moss green aniline leather locates comfortable seating and hand–worked aluminum forms a pair of geometric plinth–like concierge points north and south.
Symbolising beginning and end the work is a meditation on matter and time offering pause for contemplation and rest while inviting nature and ritual into the experience of elemental beauty.
Lynch’s intervention offers a deliberate counterbalance to Universal Design Studios’ architectural language for the foyers placing hand craft and texture within their monolithic foyer–galleries.
Fiona Lynch worked in collaboration with Shou Sugi Ban artist Makiko Ryujin and hand turner Charles Sandford to realise her vision – a commentary on the evolution of matter.
Photography By Sean Fennessy