Storage Silo #10

This ten metre diameter, ten sided room has steel walls and is at least three stories high, giving the impression of being inside a grain silo. The walls arch in and meet at the centre forming a bullet shape. From the peak a long string of bead lights runs all the way to the floor. Around this central lighting feature is a metal spiral staircase with five walk-off platforms reaching out towards the walls. The entire staircase revolves allowing full access to the edges which are lined with deep industrial shelving. Only the bottom section has been densely populated with all manner of plain boxes and more exotic containers, protecting their contents from the ravages of time, damp and dust.

This utilitarian space gains some class from the art deco styled shelf labelling and the abundance of black and chrome.

Each shelf has an illuminated label driven by an out-of-sight computerised stock control system, and a removed/replaced chrome toggle switch for identifying when the contents are in situ or "on loan". Because this grand warehouse is clearly a home for all things and using them is merely borrowing them. Here offers a place for everything and a strongly satisfying feeling that everything should be in its place.

Complementing the central string of light beads are a mesh of dim lights beneath each shelf, illuminating the one below with a well balanced glow. No light is enough to dazzle the curator but between them the lights provide ample visibility to support the serious business of storage and retrieval.

In this shrine to organisation the only untidy thing is the lifting cables which can be used to haul and lower heavier items. These are swinging gently in the circulated air, like vines hanging from a steel tree, gently flexing like muscles waiting to be used.

This room was clearly over-specified for the amount of storage that has thus far been needed, but it's better to have too much space than not enough.