The House of Many ways — Sahra Hersi Studio

The House of Many ways

2022

♥ Client: Mosaic Rooms
♥ Collaboration: ECYC
♥ Year: 2022
♥ Location: London

The House of Many Ways is an interactive outdoor play installation commissioned by The Mosaic Rooms as their 2022 outdoor play commission, with Sahra Hersi as the gallery's family artist for the year. The second commission in a series that began with Alaa Satir's The Dancers' Garden, it formed part of The Mosaic Rooms' Creative Learning programme, developed in dialogue with local people, and was sited at the Chelsea Theatre, a community arts hub at World's End in Chelsea.

The piece was made to fold out from the wall of the theatre, opening up and coming alive when activated. It became a working part of the theatre itself, with interactive features inviting children to enter, modify, and play with the space. Chalkboard panels ran across the structure, encouraging children to draw on it, mark it, and claim it as their own. The House of Many Ways was never intended as a precious artwork. It was a play installation, made to be touched, used, and lived in.

Alongside the main structure, Sahra Hersi designed a series of child-scale furniture pieces, including cloud-shaped chalkboard tables paired with cork building blocks. Positioned near the theatre's cafe, these pieces gave children a space to sit, gather, draw, build, and get messy together, holding their place comfortably within a busy public setting.

The project began with a series of workshops in April 2022, held with children and young people from Earl's Court Youth Club. Together, the group explored architectural influences from the Middle East, Africa, and the Global South, using cardboard and other accessible materials to design and build their own dens and structures. Elements from these workshop designs were carried directly into the final installation, weaving the children's ideas into the form and feel of the work itself.

The completed installation included chalkboards, reflective surfaces, and movable elements that encouraged creative interaction. It introduced children to architectural concepts while giving them a visible presence in the public realm, building a meaningful connection between the installation and the neighbouring World's End Estate. Fully equipped with all the materials needed for play, The House of Many Ways was designed to be accessible and inclusive for children aged four and over.

Thanks to participants of Earls Court Youth Club: Aaron, Adam, Aisha, Alessandro, Ali, Andi, Benedetta, Cat, Diáz, Elisa, Ellis, Isabelle, Jean-Mark, Julian, Juliette, Kali, Lamisa, Las, Leyton, Mia, Selma, Sky and Zak from ECYC

View of Sahra Hersi's The House of Many Ways, an outdoor play commission by The Mosaic Rooms at Chelsea Theatre, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist and The Mosaic Rooms. Photo by Nicola Tree.

A moment of play through one of the peep windows in The House of Many Ways, an outdoor play commission by The Mosaic Rooms at Chelsea Theatre, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist and The Mosaic Rooms. Photo by Nicola Tree.

A child looking out through a peep window in The House of Many Ways, an outdoor play commission by The Mosaic Rooms at Chelsea Theatre, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist and The Mosaic Rooms. Photo by Nicola Tree.

Hands at play on one of the child-scale chalkboard tables designed by Sahra Hersi for The House of Many Ways, Chelsea Theatre, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist and The Mosaic Rooms. Photo by Nicola Tree.

Child-scale chalkboard table with cork building blocks, designed by Sahra Hersi as part of The House of Many Ways, Chelsea Theatre, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist and The Mosaic Rooms. Photo by Nicola Tree.

One of the cardboard structures built by young people from Earl's Court Youth Club during the workshops that shaped The House of Many Ways. Elements from these designs were carried into the final installation. The Mosaic Rooms, 2022. Image courtesy of The Mosaic Rooms.

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