In March 2019, the V&A opened two new spaces in its British galleries: a display dedicated to exploring notions of Britishness through the lens of comedy, and a new ‘living room’ for the museum. We designed both in collaboration with the V&A Design Studio, graphic designers Studio Makgill and lighting designers DHA design. Laughing Matters: The State of a Nation looks at the role of humour in debates around identity, empire and power over the past 200 years through costumes, props, photographs, film and television clips, and interviews with contemporary comedians. The gallery is organised into four thematic sections, each one with its own distinct colour scheme and arranged in a wall-mounted display of cellular cabinets that extend from each corner of the room. We were inspired by the Robert Adams bookcase in the V&A British galleries and 19th-century satirist George Cruickshank’s cartoon ‘The British Bee Hive’ to provide alcoves of different sizes for various display scales and strategies. Celebrated British interior designer David Hicks was a major inspiration for our decoration and bold treatment of the gallery. His work – simultaneous with the late 1960s and the birth of the alternative comedy scene – suggests a particular blend of traditional values and modern invention, and is quintessentially British in its eccentricity. We added a contemporary take on a traditional telephone table in the centre of the space to allow visitors to sit and listen to interviews with comedians through old-fashioned telephones while taking in the object displays in each corner of the room. In the room directly above this display, we reinvigorated a former study area to create a museum living room with comfortable seating, toys, games, and plugs for phones and laptops. Alongside desks built at different heights for adults and children are puppets hidden behind doors with playful ‘peek a boo’ holes, and a mirror with comedy accessories. The space, which also features a sloped felt bank perfect for lounging and cushioned bleachers for sitting near plug-in points, has become a haven for visitors to relax and re-charge their batteries in the museum.
Laughing Matters & The Living Room
Aberrant Architecture
Bronze

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Adrian Manea
Architect and Director
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Nathan Watts
Creative Director
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Ting Yu
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at Wutopia Lab
5
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Frank Lee
Founder and President
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Janne van Berlo
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Nic Granleese
CEO and Cofounder
at BowerBird
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6.5

Lorcan O'Herlihy
Founder, Design Principal
at Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects [LOHA]
8
8
8
8
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Doris Sung
Principal/Director of Undergraduate Programs
at DOSU Studio Architecture/USC School of Architecture
6
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5
6.5

Victoria Yakusha
Founder and chief architect
at Yakusha Studio & FAINA Collection of live design
5
6
6
5
5.5

Jeff Yrazabal
President
at SRG Partnership
7
7
7
5
6.5

Julio Kowalenko
Cofounder
at Atelier Caracas
5
6
7
6
6

Akanksha Deo Sharma
Designer
at Ikea
7
8
8
6
7.25

Tobias Geisler
Cofounder
at VAVE Studio
5
7
6
7
6.25
Location
Designer
Client
V&A Museum London
Floor area
216 ㎡
Completion
2019
Designer
Graphic Designers
Lighting Designers
Fabrication
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