Andrew Riddell, studying queerspace at the Bartlett, challenges the home as site ‘where heteronormativity is most firmly rooted’ in digital drawings to take 3rd winner, student
Architectural discourse should be about raising people’s blood pressure now and again
Shasore was sold on the texture of Riddell’s statement supporting his work, calling his ‘aesthetic challenging of norms conceptually strong and sophisticated’. Nikki Bell initially found the sheer outrageousness of the images ‘over the top and clichéd’ but, as she studied them more deeply, found herself drawn to his columns with a base of chrome platform heels and the technical skill of his kitchen roof’s ‘shimmering translucency.’
There is no escaping the explosion of queerness that emanates from Riddell’s ‘Elevation’ and ‘Queenie’s Room,’ but it was ‘The Kitchen’ that ultimately engrossed the judges, whose detail could be rewardingly zoomed into. With two main premiated winners coming from the Bartlett School, Shasore’s remark that there will be eyerolls was countered by Jiřičná. Like Riddell’s work, ‘it’s a provocation – architectural discourse should be about raising people’s blood pressure now and again’.