Located in London’s South Kensington, The Cosmic House is one of the key landmarks in the development of Post-Modernist architecture. A hugely influential distillation of the ideas at the heart of Post-Modern thought in culture and science, it is a remarkable testament to the polymathic talents of Maggie and Charles Jencks.

Charles Jencks (1939–2019) was a writer, critic, designer and teacher whose work defined and refined the disparate and wide-reaching ideas behind Post Modernism. Designed in collaboration with architect (Sir) Terry Farrell, and built between 1978 and 1983, the house became a forum for conversation and dialogue at the epicentre of the Post-Modern moment and the cultural discourse around ideas, history, science and aesthetics. The Cosmic House was home to Charles and the Jencks family, until his eventual passing where upon his request the building was adjusted to welcome the general public.

As part of the buildings transformation from home to museum and research space, we were approached to develop an in-situ wayfinding system titling each of the themed rooms and spaces. In response to the domestic setting, our approach was to create a series of human-proportioned signs that would quietly sit throughout the house. The resulting miniature obelisks or ‘totems’ were prompted by Jencks’ interest in Egyptian history and architecture. Their seemingly casual leaned placement is not unlike a misplaced sweeping brush or mop.

These place-markers are accompanied by a guidebook titled 

, given to visitors upon entry which link each space to a corresponding description. Each of the house’s five principal spaces are prefaced by a wayfinding map. Texts are broken into three ‘voices’: that of Edwin Heathcote, editor and 

. These three perspectives formally and informally interweave across the pages, conversing with one another and the reader.

Designed with Marcos Villalba
Build by Daniel Bradley
Photography by Max Creasy