spop@spacepopular.com
Space Popular is an art, design and architecture studio that explores the future of spatial experience through research, design, and artworks. The studio is directed by architects Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg.
Lara Lesmes & Fredrik Hellberg. 2023. Photograph by Bika Rebek
Founders & Directors
Space Popular is directed by Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg, both alumni of the Architectural Association in London (2011). They founded the practice in Bangkok (2013) and have been based in London and Spain since 2016. Space Popular creates spaces, objects, and events in both physical and virtual space, concentrating on how the two realms can blend together. The studio has completed buildings, exhibitions, public artworks, furniture collections, and interiors across Asia and Europe, as well as virtual architecture for the immersive internet.
Clients, collaborators, and commissioners include national institutions such as MAXXI - National Museum of 21st Century Art, Rome, Italy; The Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design –ArkDes, Stockholm, Sweden; Royal Institute of British Architects, London, UK; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea; as well as independent galleries such as MAGAZIN, Vienna, Austria; and Sto Werkstatt, London, UK.
Lesmes and Hellberg both have extensive academic experience having taught architectural design studio since 2011, first at INDA, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok from 2011 to 2016, at the Architectural Association in London from 2016 to 2021, and currently at Daniels, Faculty of Architecture, University of Toronto sinde 2020, and UCLA Architecture and Urban Design since 2022. Their current MArch design and research studios both at Daniels and UCLA investigates visions for civic architecture in the immersive internet.
Solo Shows
2022 Search History - MAXXI. National Museum of 21st Century Art. Rome. Italy
2022 The Portal Galleries - Sir John Soane Museum. London. United Kingdom
2020 FreeStyle. Architectural Adventures in Mass Media - Royal Institute of British Architects. London, United Kingdom
2018 How I Started Hanging out with Home - MAGAZIN. space for contemporary architecture. Vienna. Austria
2018 Value in the Virtual - Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, ArkDes. Stockholm. Sweden
2017 The Glass Chain - Sto Werkstatt. London. United Kingdom
Group Shows
2023 The Portal Galleries - MAK - Museum of Applied Arts. (MAK) Vienna. Austria
2019 The Venn Room - Tallinn Architecture Biennale. Estonian Museum of Architecture. Estonia
2019 The Wardian Case - Tapestry Rooms, Palazzo Reale Milano. Italy
Immersive Film
2023 The Portal Galleries - Museum of Applied Arts. (MAK) Vienna. Austria. Sir John Soane Museum. London. United Kingdom
2022 The Global Home - MEET | Digital Culture Center. Milan. Italy
2020 FreeStyle. Architectural Adventures in Mass Media - Royal Institute of British Architects. London, United Kingdom
2019 The Wardian Case - Tapestry Rooms, Palazzo Reale Milano. Italy
2019 The Venn Room - Tallinn Architecture Biennale. Estonian Museum of Architecture. Estonia
2017 The Glass Chain - Sto Werkstatt. London. United Kingdom
Film
2021 Camera Balla - MAXXI. National Museum of 21st Century Art. Rome. Italy
2021 Let them eat Screens - Unfolding Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale. Italy
2019 Gate of Bright Lights - MMCA. Deoksugung Palace. Seoul, South Korea
Public Art
2023 Vega Sphere - Vega School Library. Haninge. Sweden
2020 Becontween - Create London / Becontree. London. United Kingdom
2019 Gate of Bright Lights - MMCA. Deoksugung Palace. Seoul, South Korea
Virtual Space
2023 Rootunda - Vävda rum (Woven places) Exhibition of virtual public art. Sweden
2022 spop.land - The Immersive Internet
2022 The Square at the End of the Metaverse - Model. Barcelona Architectures Festival. Spain
2021 Camera Balla - MAXXI. National Museum of 21st Century Art. Rome. Italy
2018 Value in the Virtual - Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, ArkDes. Stockholm. Sweden
2021 Phantom Galaxy - Paco Pabanne. The Immersive Internet
2020 AA Earth Gallery - Architectural Association School of Architecture
2020 Freestyle Online - Royal Institute of British Architects
2020 Punto de Inflexión - The Arquia Foundation Festival Arquia/Próxima
2013 The Cloud of Resilience - The Immersive Internet
Architecture (Realised)
2020 Brick Vault House - Santa Barbara. Valencia. Spain
2015 Wonder Fruit Soi Stage - Wonderfruit Festival. Chonburi. Thailand
Architecture (Unrealised / Speculative)
2022 Torre Del Solstizio - Bergamo City of Culture. Italy
2021 Babyn Yar Model Pavilion - Kyiv, Ukraine
2018 The Timber Hearth - Venice Architecture Biennale. Italy
2017 A Glass Tower - Sto Group
2017 Temple for Hilma af Klint - Stockholm. Sweden
2016 Örebro Water Reservoir - Örebro. Sweden
2016 Skellefteå Culture Center - Skellefteå. Sweden
2015 Via A66 - Oviedo. Spain
2015 Livet På Bergs - Nacka. Sweden
2015 Kazymierzowsky Rebound - Warsaw. Poland
2014 National Pantheon of Kazakhstan - Astana. Kazakhstan
2013 Hans Christian Andersen Museum - Odense. Denmark
2013 Collider Activity Center - Sofia. Bulgaria
2012 Live.Make Industrial Arts Center - Cincinnati. USA
Interior Architecture
2020 Infinity Wellbeing - Infinity Wellbeing. Bangkok. Thailand
2016 Infinity Spa - Bangkok. Thailand
2014 MAK Montessori - Valencia. Spain
Writing
2023 In practice: Space Popular - Architecture Review
2023 The Portal Galleries: Researching Portals in Fiction from the 19th Century to the Present - AD - Multispace
2022 The Guide - E-Flux & ArkDes / Solicited: Proposals
2021 The Fabric of Civic Teleportation - Dezeen, Metropolis Magazine
2021 The Spatial Essay: Rooms And Objects As Containers Of Information - Expanding Spatial Narratives
2021 Worldviews - AArchitecture Student Journal
2021 Phantomis.land - E-Flux / Confinement
2021 Tweeting Out Loud In The Square Städelschule - SAC Journal. Städelschule. Frankfurt. Germany
2020 Freestyle - E-Flux / Software as Infrastructure
2020 Why You Should Care About Style - Royal Institute of British Architects. London, United Kingdom
2020 Children of the Pandemic - Disegno Journal: Lockdown Papers. London. United Kingdom
2020 From Scrolls to Strolls - Learning to Live Together: Humans, Cars, and Kerbs in Solidarity
2019 Who Owns the Global Home - Exhibition Catalogue - Tallinn Architecture Biennale. Estonia
2019 Non Speculative Virtual House - KooZA/rch & Viceversa Magazine 8
2018 10 Propositions for Virtual Arch - Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, ArkDes. Stockholm. Sweden
2018 Hoovers not Hoomans - Due Magazine. London. United Kingdom
2013 Thoughts on Meta-Virtual Solipsism - The Funambulist Papers, Volume 1
Furniture
2020 The Second Collection - Infinity Wellbeing. Bangkok. Thailand
2018 The Milanese Knight - Salone del Mobile. Milan. Italy
2015 The First Collection - Infinity Spa. Bangkok. Thailand
Image
2022 Enter the Immersive Internet - Metropolis Magazine
2020 Exhibition Road Portal - Kensington + Chelsea Art Week. London. United Kingdom
2020 Zoomed Out Solitude - Wallpaper Magazine
2018 These Lines have Always Been Virtual - Veszprém. Hungary
Performance
2022 The Portal Galleries LIVE - Victoria and Albert Museum. London. United Kingdom
Textiles
2019 ISO DREAMS - Elementa. Oslo. Norway
2017 Portland Place Out of Character - Royal Institute of British Architects. London, United Kingdom
2017 Stones of Venice - Design for a Kimono
2016 Space is the Place - Architectural Association School of Architecture
Exhibition Design
2020 ROOT DOMAIN - Tracing the Physical Impact of Digital Museums and Archives - United Kingdom
2018 V&A Cars Show - Victoria and Albert Museum. London. United Kingdom
Workshops
2022 Venn Room Workshops - Royal Danish Academy. Copenhagen. Denmark
2019 Venn Room Workshops - Piet Zwart Institute. Rotterdam. Netherlands.
2015 Social Rifting - INDA, Chulalongkorn University. Bangkok Thailand
2015 Stone Pilgrims - INDA, Chulalongkorn University. Bangkok Thailand
2013 Vaults of Pulp - Rosendals Trädgård. Stockholm. Sweden
Event Programming
2019 Architecture for the Immersive Internet - Architectural Association School of Architecture
2018 You Are a Citizen of Virtual Worlds - Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, ArkDes. Stockholm. Sweden
2018 Science Fiction and Architecture - Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, ArkDes. Stockholm. Sweden
2017 Virtual Reality as a Tool for Architecture - Sto Werkstatt. London. United Kingdom
Clients & Collaborators
MUSEUMS & GALLERIES
MAK. Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria
MAXXI - National Museum of 21st Century Art, Rome, Italy
Sir John Soane Museum, London, UK
Royal Institute of British Architects - London, UK
MMCA - National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art - Seoul, South Korea
Arkdes. Sweden’s National Centre for Architecture and Design - Stockholm, Sweden
MAGAZIN - Vienna, Austria
Sto Werkstatt - London, UK
INDUSTRY
Alcantara - Milan, Italy
Setra Group - Stockholm, Sweden
Finsa - London, UK
Sto Group - London, UK
RETAIL & SERVICE
Infinity Spa - Bangkok, Thailand
Infinity Wellbeing - Bangkok, Thailand
MAK Montessori - Valencia, Thailand
FESTIVALS & BIENNIALS
Tallinn Architecture Biennale - Tallinn, Estonia
DesignMarch - Reykjavík, Iceland
16th Venice Biennale of Architecture - Venice, Italy
Wonderfruit Festival - Pattaya, Thailand
UNIVERSITIES & ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
UCLA Architecture and Urban Design - Los Angeles, USA
John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design - Toronto, Canada
Architectural Association School of Architecture - London, UK
INDA | International Program in Design and Architecture - Bangkok, Thailand
Chulalongkorn University - Bangkok Thailand
MIARD at Piet Zwart Institute - Rotterdam, Netherlands
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design - Jerusalem, Israel
Konstfack - University of Arts, Crafts and Design - Stockholm, Sweden
ETH - Zürich, Switzerland
University of Melbourne - Australia
School of Architecture and Design - University of Brighton, UK
GOVERNMENTAL & PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
Haninge Kommun (Haninge Municipality) - Stockholm, Sweden
Österåkers kommun (Österåkers Municipality) - Stockholm, Sweden
COLLABORATORS
Joy Wilson
Rachel Swetnam
Deborah Wong
Ludvig Holmen
Daniel Tayar-Watson
Max Celar max.celar.earth
Cristina Díaz Moreno, Amid.Cero9
Efren Garcia Grinda, Amid.Cero9
Grace Suthata Jiranuntarat
Pla Kornkamon Kaewprasert, MadeofTWo
Pu Kanyaphorn Kaewprasert, MadeofTWo
Pik Prapasri Khunakridatikarn
Nikki Nicha Kiatfuengfoo
Nuknik Thanaporn Lam
Baibua Wachira Leangtanom
Tang Jenwit Narukatpichai
Not Varis Niwatsakul
A Jariyaporn Prachasartta
Jet Jetana Ruangjun
Nonae Nutcha Somboonthanasarn
Joy Natapa Sriyuksiri
Top Tachapol Tanaboonchai
Tijn van de Wijdeven