Small Spaces in the City: Rethinking inside the Box

In the midst of an economic, health and housing crisis in the city, as interest rates and living costs continue to rise, more and more people are finding themselves living and working in small spaces, if they are to remain in the city. In this interdisciplinary exhibition, curated by Clare Farrow Studio, we look at a brilliant array of designs, in London, Tokyo, Berlin, Stockholm, and other cities in the world, that have responded to the challenge of small spaces with millimetre precision, multifunctional concepts, and a playful inventiveness that also highlights a changing society. These micro interiors, transforming furniture pieces and tiny homes, which are trending on social media, also propose a lighter, more sustainable way of living and working, where the city becomes an extension of your home. But questions are asked: How can these small space concepts, which use mobility, vertical stacking, modular flexibility, natural materials, and ingenious storage solutions, be applied to all types of housing, to benefit everyone? And can a small space only work for a single person or young couple, with minimalist minds? Presenting new interviews, research, experiments, and a specially commissioned film that explores movement, health and wellbeing in a small space, participants include Proctor & Shaw, Intervention Architecture, Satoko Shinohara, Takeshi Hosaka, the Kuma Lab, Gary Chang, JCPCDR architecture, Paola Bagna, White Arkitekter, The Bartlett School of Architecture, King’s College London, and William Bracewell, Principal Dancer of the Royal Ballet. Talk events, featuring some of the above, will also be accompanying the exhibition.