B11_#011 // The Vestibule // Kirsty McMullan

The vestibule is a synecdoche; a part that is made to represent the whole, or vice versa. It is also a tease. The vestibule hints at the architecture’s main spaces beyond, building expectations but promising nothing. It usually follows the character of the whole, but has no obligation to be true to its scale, function or even form. In one sense, it slowly indoctrinates us into its world, easing us in gently. In another sense, it holds its’ full self back.

As such, the vestibule is analogous to clothing; an outer garment that can either be close fitting and revealing, or can be used to alter and disguise to body beneath. This entry uses durational images created by scanned and photographed interactions between a set of scale architectural elements and a tailored fabric glove, that are both characters and drawing tools, occupants and architecture. The collage works with the moments where the two come together, or draw apart to explore this relationship between the vestibule and the architecture beyond.

Kirsty McMullan is an MArch Graduate from the Bartlett School of Architecture