FAT's Last Building Completed

A House for Essex is part of Living Architecture, the "holidays in modern architecture" started by Alain de Botton, author of the popular book The Architecture of Happiness. Living Architecture is "dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of world-class modern architecture," and Alain, as creative director, is responsible for identifying the architects. To date, holiday houses have been designed by MVRDV and Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects, among others, with houses by John Pawson and Peter Zumthor under construction. The house of FAT and Grayson Perry "has been designed to evoke a tradition of wayside and pilgrimage chapels in the landscape," according to Living Architecture's website.

FAT's particular pop culture-infused Postmodernism is evident in the design, which is composed of nesting gabled volumes clad in tile and topped by decorative ornaments. The interiors are colorful, aligned with Perry's color-saturated art and gender-bending persona, with green tile prevalent, a continuation of the exterior detail. According to the artist, who worked with FAT's Charles Holland on the project, "The whole building is in effect the story of an imaginary woman, Julie, an Essex Everywoman whose biography I have written in a long poem and provides a social history of Essex since the war." Grayson immodestly calls it "the Taj Mahal on the River Stour."

However one describes it, A House for Essex is easily the most outrageous Living Architecture holiday house, making MVRDV's Balancing Barn seem tame in comparison. It is also a fitting end to the FAT trio's nearly 25 years together.