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Things We Love: Fun House

  • September 4th, 2018
Mans head poking out of ball pit

The National Building Museum in Washington is alive with activity – all thanks to Fun House.

Designed by architecture and collective practice, Snarkitecture, the collection of installations seek to bring people together to explore and engage the senses, encouraging play by transforming the familiar into the extraordinary.

The installation inspires active participation as visitors are invited to interact with a sequence of rooms and well-known Snarkitecture environments that are whimsical and quirky. Inspiration evolved from the image of a traditional home (house, courtyard, pool, garden etc.) where each part of the home celebrates a different example of the studio’s ten year story.

Top view of pool filled with bubbles at Washington Fun House

If a dip in the ocean is not your cup of tea, perhaps you’d enjoy swimming in a massive ball-pit. The unexpected and memorable landscape of The Beach which formed part of Snarkitecture’s 2015 installation in the same space, is repeated here again in a similar manner at Fun House. The ‘pool’ becomes a nostalgia-inducing ball-pit for adults and kids alike to play, jump and submerse themselves in.

You may find yourself in the ‘playhouse’ but feel yourself growing as the structure gradually diminishes in scale. Or you may add black marbles to a tower of snaking white chutes and watch them go zipping before fighting over couch cushions in the living room (Pillow Fort, 2012) or wandering through a maze of hanging fabric strips in the bedroom (Light Cavern, 2015).

In a statement, Snarkitecture’s co-founder Alex Mustonen said the firm “distinguishes itself by operating in the territory between art and architecture, emphasising transformation of the familiar into the extraordinary.”

Showcasing multiple installations, Fun House has something for everyone, and makes architecture and design approachable and fun.

Inside the Snarkitecture Fun House, Washington DC
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