15/04/2022

Marion Delaporte & Timothy Tan: Reviving Fiberglass to Light Up the Wash House

Ahead of the fabrication of their Light for a Wash House – one of the five projects that will be realized in Differdange this summer in the framework of Esch22, Marion & Timothy shared with us bits about themselves and what motivates them to create.

Marion Delaporte graduated with a Master in Architecture in June 2020 and kept working on her project dealing with the repurposing of abandoned fiberglass boats. This led to the start of an atelier of other and Drawing of a Muchness, which she created with Timothy Tan. Besides working in an office in Barcelona, participating in a building-workshop in Japan, Marion took part in the luxembourgish exhibition ‘leidlenger Kiermess’ as an artist.

Timothy Tan is an architect based in Luxembourg, co-founder of an atelier of other and Drawing of a Muchness. He was a tutor at the Department of Architecture in National University of Singapore and previously practiced at Jensen & Skodvin. With his academic peers, he runs AAVS Cambodia, an annual workshop focusing his research on the impact of material culture and its immediacy to urban continuity. Timothy’s works span extensively across Singapore, London, Dubai, Shanghai, Japan and Oslo with development projects, private houses, sub-rural conversions, scenography and urban samplings.

What motivated you to participate in DiffMix? 

Marion: The scale was what we were looking for, in between art and architecture. This traditional washhouse seemed particularly charming, clearly having gone through some patchwork.

Where did you find inspiration for your DiffMix suggestion? 

Timothy: The wash house may be obsolete and trapped behind the gates of the stonewalls, but the interior gave a lot of hints of what we wanted to create. We like forgotten places or discarded places that are asking for a new narrative. We work on our material research project, dealing with discarded materials. From material to space, we felt this opportunity was a precise moment to showcase our light pieces which were developed from the research. The visual and textural quality of the fiberglass material alludes to silk woven cocoon.

Describe how art is important in shaping the urban space?

Marion: It can add character and play to a city. Besides being functional, cities need space for wonder and play. They give identity to a space, and create a sense of belonging.

What you were busy with when you learned you’re one of the winners of DiffMix? 

Timothy: We are trying hard to find a space/an atelier that suits our mode of work. It isn’t easy to find a place that accepts the type of work we do. Besides spatial design and small-scale architectural projects, we are driving our material research ‘Reviving Fiberglass’.

What’s your first step to materialize your idea? 

Marion: Design, Test and Make.