Director Pippa Nissen, Senior Associate Marie-Lise Oulmont and Associates Andrea Hickey and Kate Coghlan of Nissen Richards Studio are leading a new postgraduate teaching unit at London Metropolitan University. The unit challenged students to design a ‘Museum for Now’. Here is one of the responses to that challenge.

My Manifesto looks to respond to the pandemic’s resulting cultural impacts which have been amplified by the current mental health crisis. With increasing uncertainty the population has sought solace through alternative recreation, shifting cultural perceptions to new realms.

Increased appreciation of visiting green spaces, particularly within urban environments such as London has emerged, and equally there has been an increasing shift towards more creative activities such as ceramic art. These cultural changes are likely resultant of the therapeutic effects these activities provide, which is very important amongst these times of uncertainty. Skandihus a  ceramic studio adjacent to site made the statement “We have seen the mental health benefits of working with clay. As a teacher we know how restorative just a few hours in one of our studios can be.”

My project therefore aims to capture these two activities, creating a place of escape. The scheme should form a connection between both object and landscape taking example from The Beyer Foundation by Renzo Piano and equally the Paula Rego Museum.