https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/05/alex-chinneck-a-week-at-the-knees/ Skip to content Colossal The best of art, craft, and visual culture since 2010. * Log in * Shop * Search & Explore ... Menu * Art * Craft * Design * Photography * Animation * Books * Climate * Film * History * Conversations * Illustration * Music * Nature * Opportunities * Science * Social Issues Close * Search & Explore * Subscribe * Events * Conversations * Art Glossary * Shop About Colossal * About * Contact [nav-panel-bg-mobile] [nav-panel-bg] Become a Colossal Member * Sign Up * or * Log in [surprise-stati] * Privacy Policy * Terms of Service a public art piece in a a park featuring the facade of a London townhouse that appears to sit on the ground with its knees upPhotos by Charles Emerson. All images courtesy of Alex Chinneck Studio, shared with permission A Rippling Townhouse Facade by Alex Chinneck Takes a Seat in a London Square May 22, 2025 ArtDesign Kate Mothes * Share * Pin * Email Bookmark It takes a real knack for design to make something as hefty and industrial as steel and bricks appear weightless or even playful. But British artist Alex Chinneck (previously) is no stranger to monumental projects that reimagine urban infrastructure and buildings into striking public installations. As part of London's Clerkenwell Design Week, Chinneck unveiled "A week at the knees," a new sculpture in Charterhouse Square that takes its cue from an iconic predecessor. The artist installed the "From the Knees of my Nose to the Belly of my Toes" in 2013 on a dilapidated townhouse in Margate, appearing as though the entire front of the building had simply slid right off. On view through June in London, his new work boasts a frame made from 320 meters of repurposed steel and 7,000 bricks. "A week at the knees" playfully anthropomorphizes a classic Georgian facade, with its lower two levels rippling over a pathway as if seated in the park with its knees up. London is famous for its green squares and gardens, and Chinneck's work invites visitors to pass through a unique portal that calls upon the history of its surroundings, complete with downspout and lamps flanking the arched front door. Chinneck fabricated the sculpture in collaboration with numerous British companies to source and create bespoke steel beams, curving windows, and bricks. At five meters tall and weighing 12 tons, the piece mimics a life-size building while sporting a thickness of only 15 centimeters. The effect lends itself to the experience of a hefty, architectonic structure with a graceful, lightweight personality. Explore more on Chinneck's website and Instagram. a detail of a public artwork resembling a curving brick townhouse facade a public art piece in a a park featuring the facade of a London townhouse that appears to sit on the ground with its knees up a detail of a public artwork resembling a curving brick townhouse facade a detail of a public artwork resembling a curving brick townhouse facade people walk beneath a public artwork resembling a curving brick townhouse facade a detail of a public artwork resembling a curving brick townhouse facade Do stories and artists like this matter to you? 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