translations | john hejduk's prison house

Translations | John Hejduk’s Prison House

Oct 2021

Four Week Primer Project

Individual Project (Royal College of Art)

Tutors: Ian Higgins & Ella Doran

‘Translations’ - Reimagining John Hejduk’s Lancaster/Hanover Masque drawings was a fast-paced ideas and physical model making exercise. The start of our year saw a collaboration between Year 1 & Year 2 Interior Design Students reinterpret John Hejduk’s Masque drawings with their own narratives and cultural backgrounds.

Hejduk’s drawing of the Prison House in his Hanover Lancaster Masque Series. — Hejduk’s drawing of the Prison House

“There is always an Accused inhabiting the Prison House. When it becomes necessary to replenish the empty Prison House...a number comes up and the holder of that number is placed in the interior cube....” - John Hejduk

I am most intrigued by how there is always someone inhabiting the Prison House. The act of being part of this community is that you must relinquish your autonomy and take part in this random, cyclical reality. I am translating this tension by creating a cabin that shape shifts according to the time of day. The pushing and pulling of the roof results in spaces that are either suspended from and embedded in the earth. The resultant space reframes the site for those who use it and allows new qualities of light, earth and time to be discovered.

Array of sketch models used during the design process.

Photos of final model at various angles. I used red paper to emphasize the shearing and excavation of the inner and outer cube.

Grid of sketch models that explore the techtonic relationship between the roof, walls and apertures.

Sketches of the Prison house at different parts of the day. Sketch of the design in plan. Sketch of the design in section with proposed wooden table legs.

Short section of the proposal - a “Red Sea” condition where the viewer walks through the sectional model

Photo of models at the final review at the Reynolds Room, Burlington House at the Royal Academy.

Close up photograph of the cyclical prison. Senior Tutor Ian Higgins peering at the cyclical prison from the perspective of the inhabitant.

Royal Academy | John Hejduk Exhibition

This ambitious installation features Hejduk’s design for the Widow’s House, one of 68 “objects” in his seminal Lancaster / Hanover Masque, brought to life. The Lancaster / Hanover Masque draws inspiration from an eclectic range of sources, including the novels of Thomas Hardy, English fairground attractions and American agricultural buildings. Hejduk used allegorical stories and a large cast of characters to deal with themes of life, death, love and virtue. The Widow is one such character in the masque.

‘London Masque’ was developed in collaboration with students from the Royal College of Art MA Interior Design programme. During the life of the London Masque a series of workshops will explore Hejduk’s Lancaster / Hanover Masque and the resulting models and drawings will be displayed alongside the Widow’s House.

All images below are courtesy of the Royal Academy.

Link to official event page