Built between 1978 and 1983 in London's Holland Park district, Cosmic House is the birthplace of the Jencks Foundation, the brainchild of architect and architectural theorist Charles Jencks, whose works include The Language of Postmodern Architecture. It's no surprise, then, that the famous building displays the codes of this movement born in the late 1970s. Acumen takes you on a tour of the building.
1- Garden side
The façade overlooking the garden is decorated in four places with the "Jencksiana Symbol". It was his love of symbols, signs and semiotics that prompted Jencks to design the Jencksiana, a motif reminiscent of an abstract human face. Displayed in several forms throughout the house, and inspired by the Palladian window, it features curved elements evoking a forehead, eyes and chin.
2- Exhibition Room
The ceiling lights in this room illustrate the evolution of scientific representations of the Sun. The room, which overlooks the Time Garden, features a malachite floor, as well as a sculpture of the Sun and Earth, created by Charles and Lily Jencks.
3 and 12- Solar Stair
The staircase is a cantilevered concrete spiral with Eduardo Paolozzi's Black Hole mosaic at its base. The structure refers to the double helix of DNA, the spiral movement of galaxies and time, as well as the Sun and solar system. Jencks consulted scientists and astronomers in the design process. In the first drafts, the Jencks couple wanted to integrate a wall of solar batteries on the south façade. But the original plan was modified and the facade fitted with large skylight windows, allowing the sun's light and heat to be absorbed by the south-facing wall. Solar heat was supposed to accumulate at the base of the Solar Stair, then travel up the vertical shaft to heat the whole house.
4- Cosmic Oval
This strange silhouette on the ceiling greets visitors as they enter the house. It is a representation of several theories on the origin of the Universe. The oval shape refers both to ancient myths, according to which the world was born from an egg, and to contemporary scientific discoveries about the elliptical shape of the Universe. As with many other parts of the house related to the Cosmos, Charles Jencks consulted astronomers during the design phase, to ensure that his creations were in step with the most recent scientific advances of his time on the subject.
5- Winter Room
The fireplace in this room was designed by Michael Graves, another great name in post-modernism. On it sits Celia Scott's bust of Hephaestus, the god of fire and forging in classical mythology, who is a powerful figure in this space. His Greek name derives from the words "hearth" and "kindle". It is said that the Scottish artist Eduardo Paolozzi was chosen by Jencks to embody Hephaestus.
6- Spring Room
In this room, the mantelpiece is once again the work of Michael Graves. Here, the element is crowned by three female figures, representing the three months of spring and the three ages of Venus: April for the young Venus, May for the Venus Flora, and June for the older, wiser Venus Humanitas.
8- Four Square Room
This room is the bedroom of Charles and Maggie Jencks. The architect designed it around numerous iterations of the subdivided square motif, which he considered the elementary form of architecture, with mirrors and divided levels creating spatial interplay.
9, 10 and 11 - Architectural Library
Formerly Charles Jencks' office, the space is topped by a tent-like roof, painted the same color as the sky. The room was perceived as a "library village" designed by the architect, where each piece of furniture is a building dedicated to a style or theme in architecture.
Cosmic House
19 Lansdowne Walk, London (England)
