Let us not mince words: the marvellous is always beautiful, anything marvellous is beautiful, in fact only the marvellous is beautiful.

André Breton, ‘Manifesto of Surrealism’ (1924)

This edition of Architectural Design edited by Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich (London) Neil Spiller was published in March 2018.

Entitled Celebrating the Marvellous: Surrealism in Architecture, it featured the award-winning Exbury Egg conceived by Stephen Turner in collaboration with Perring Architecture & Design / PAD studio (2011-2014).

The issue examines Surrealism as an often overlooked stream of artistic thought that needs to be reassessed in the light of the impact of emerging technologies on architectural space-making and the human habitation of those spaces.

As I reflect back on my own stream of artistic endeavour under the tutelage of Neil Spiller himself during my diploma years at the Bartlett, I am heartened to know that the Exbury Egg has found its place in his imaginations as a simple structure which he describes here as having “a profound, uncanny effect on its context.”

Exbury Egg, Perring Architecture & Design / PAD studio (2011-2014).
Image courtesy of Stephen Turner

Further information on the project realised by PAD studio can be found here.