Standing in contrast to the likes of Mies van der Rohe’s austere modernism is the Cosmic House, an eccentric display of late-’70s kitsch that’s much more than its seemingly overblown aesthetics: Inside are complex symbolic design elements that pay tribute to the cosmos, resulting in one of the most iconic built manifestos of postmodernist architecture.

Now, after a careful restoration in collaboration with the homeowners’ daughter, architect Lily Jencks, a new exhibition invites visitors to immersive themselves in her father’s original vision for the home. On display through August 2022 are selections from Charles Jencks’s archive, which outline the history of the building—originally an 1840s end-of-terrace dwelling—and highlight key influences and collaborations that were critical to the home’s creation.

Charles, an architectural historian, critic, writer, and designer, became interested and motivated by the relationship between the built environment and the cosmos through his landscape art. For the renovation, which took place between 1978 and 1983, he collaborated with architect Terry Farrell, incorporating design contributions from an all-star roster that included Piers Gough, Eduardo Paolozzi, Michael Graves, and Allen Jones.

“We call the house ‘polyphonic’ as it contains the voices of many designers, and now also mine,” says Lily. Famously, designs by architects Rem Koolhaas and Jeremy Dixon were turned down.

Charles and Maggie Jencks talking after giving a joint lecture at École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, 1981. Like Charles, Maggie Keswick Jencks believed that architecture could be uplifting, and she founded the cancer charity, Maggie's, in 1995 when she was diagnosed with cancer. The Maggie's centers have been designed by leading architects, including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, and Richard Rogers." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Eustachy Kossakowsky, courtesy of the Cosmic House" photoUserId=""/>

Although it served as the family home of Charles and Maggie, few, if any, concessions were made for domestication. “While I was growing up, the house was always full of people,” says Lily. “My parents lived a busy life, and their social and work circles were completely intertwined, so that dinners were intellectual debates and the sitting room doubled as a lecture hall. It always felt like important conversations were happening around me, which is an exciting way to grow up.”

The home is organized around a central staircase—a symbol of the sun that Charles referred to as the “physical and psychological center of the house”—with the rooms on the ground floor named after the seasons. There’s also a two-story annex, a pair of interlocking conservatories, and a light shaft known as the Moonwell that connects the family rooms on the upper floors of the home.

Throughout are myriad references to classical and ancient concepts, Eastern and Western ideas about architecture, the landscape of London in the 1840s, pop culture, postmodernism, and modernity. Take the Cosmic Oval in the entrance hall, which features a representation of the big bang theory and the development of the galaxies. Hung nearby are portraits of key philosophers from throughout the ages, an oval pattern based on Guarino Guarani’s 17th-century Baroque domes, and a representation of the cosmic egg, a symbol common in ancient myths.

In true postmodern style, there’s a hefty dose of kitsch—Charles was known for saying, “If you can’t take the kitsch, get out of the kitchen.” The Cosmic Oval, for example, playfully leads to the Cosmic Loo. In the Spring Room, a large oval seating element is framed by spiraling lights with a literal spring motif.

Originally named the Thematic House, the home was given its current moniker when it was listed as a historic landmark and became the nexus for the Jencks Foundation—a kind of “cultural laboratory that will continue to bring different voices into the conversation about our postmodern culture,” says Lily. Programming includes residencies, salons, seminars and grants.

Before the home opened to the public on September 24, a new public entrance and exhibition space was created in the basement by excavating the existing garage. “[It] illustrates and elaborates a historical connection to the cosmic through cultural and scientific references,” explains Lily. “The rest of the house is very much as it was when [Charles] was living here, and indeed, much the same as when I grew up here.”

Though the exhibition will run until the end of August next year, tickets are completely sold out—a testament to the home’s polarizing design. “It is really interesting to see the different details or ideas that people are drawn to,” says Lily. “There are lots of people who are horrified by the house stylistically, but can still keenly engage with the debate about its meaning for architecture and its role in public life that the house inspires.”

Ilinca Cantacuzino, created in 1982, is also a part of the exhibition." layout="wide" credit="The Cosmic House" photoUserId=""/>

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