ARK, installation at the V&A exhibition "1:1 – Architects Build Small Spaces. London, 2010.

As we are reaching the end of the first decade of the 21 century, we are witnessing the consequences of human domination of the globe. Global warming, food crises and the collapse of unhealthy economical structures are some examples. At the same time, an estimated 500 species of living creatures vanish. Slowly, people are waking up to reality.
With this project, we wanted to offer some information about the biodiversity of this planet. If one looks at nature from outside, one cannot see or understand its complex beauty and vital balances. We need to get back to the grass-root level of understanding the world. We need to get our hands dirty and our mind clean. To know the world more is to love it more is to preserve it more, or at least destroy it less.

A wooden free-standing tower structure was is placed in the corner of the National Art Library staircase hall. The visitor was invited to choose this alternative, literature-filled promenade up through the stairwell, where they could choose an interesting book and withdraw to read it in a peaceful one-person reading space in the tower. The reading lights shone outwards through the structure, scattering across the surrounding gallery walls, enticing readers like a night lantern lures moths.

The books are second-hand, recycled or would be otherwise destroyed, and have been collected from publishers, libraries and universities during 2009/2010.

Outside, only the white pages of the books show, creating a unified external wall surface. The interior is a contrasting collage of colors, titles and themes. To discover contents of the books, one has to enter the tower.