Expanding Space. A workshop with Contemporary 3D Designers Charlotte Kingsnorth and Will Yates-Johnson

Charlotte and Will, practicing designers based in London, set a challenge to lower sixth art students: to construct the biggest space from the smallest package. Using very thin mirrored plastic sheeting called ‘space blankets’, employed by NASA and marathon runners for heat retention, the students explored what space might mean, as well as how to create so much from so little. The day began with a simple exercise in pairs to create a large cube with a hole in one side. Taken outdoors, wind filled the cubes until full, when the pair crawled in and closed the hole. Hey presto! A space is formed. In the afternoon, the students dived headlong into the challenge, finding locations to inhabit in and around the art department. The workshop ended with each pair performing a magic trick: transforming their small, lifeless package into a large and exciting space.