A textile installation designed to turn the solarium Eileen Gray designed for the garden of Villa E-1027 into an outdoor room, to sleep outside sheltered from mosquitoes.
The solarium is a small sunken, tiled structure in the villa’s garden, often mistaken by visitors for an empty swimming pool. Designed for exposure to the sun, it has no other apparent function. Its presence raises a simple question: what would we do with this space today, if the house were inhabited? During my residency, I measured the temperature of the black-tiled daybed at over 60°C. The project grew out of a question: what would we do with this solarium today, if the house were inhabited? Its design invites you to lie down — so perhaps to sleep there, in the cool, when the days are stifling.
A lightweight textile extension transforms the solarium into an outdoor room. It lets air through while keeping mosquitoes out, and can be folded away when not in use. The entire installation weighs 1 kg.
