Eric Parry RA: Working Spaces

Until 13 February 2008

In the Architecture Space

Eric Parry Architects, Aldermanbury Square, London Photograph: Helen Binet

FREE

To accompany his lecture on 26 November and to celebrate his election as a Royal Academician, this display looks at recently completed workplace and education buildings by Eric Parry.

Working Spaces presents four buildings designed by Parry. Two are office buildings in the City of London, one an art gallery (for Tim Taylor) and the last is a music centre for Bedford School.

Each one shows a different aspect of Parry’s ability to distil a clearly framed statement from the confusion and animation of urban life. The two office buildings take their form and expressive language from their context, but Parry pares both form and language down to their essence. What results is a powerful, tangible presence that both celebrates and invites reflection on contemporary urban experience.

The gallery strips a room within an existing building into an abstract but still physical space. Works of art imbue the space with their own presence, creating an interplay between object and space. The music school has a tangible form which hints at music’s ephemeral beauty, both nurturing music and recalling the experience of hearing it.

All buildings have a relationship between their function and context. These four transform that relationship into a dialogue between the particularities of work and the generalities of experience.

Opening times
10am-6pm everyday except Friday
10am-10pm Friday

• Royal Academy of Arts