Chris Elliott Architecs, Installation view at Palazzo Bembo, 2016.

Time consists of three dimensions – the past, the present and the future. Space is often said to comprise four dimensions XYZ and time. Existence is something altogether different and outside of these two realms; yet as far as we know, nothing can exist except in time and space. Things occupy space and exist through time. We can only presume that time and space have no end...
To be fully human, to be fully alive, we must respect this realm in which we and other beings exist and which consists of space and time. We must also at times contemplate the end of everything.
We have used the components of time as a device to structure our small exhibit of three projects, or more correctly one “real” project, one theoretical project, and an “anti-project”. The three represent some of the activities of our studio in recent years. In our exhibit we would prefer not to identify or name each project but rather concentrate on the themes and how they might relate to each other and to the work that we have been doing.
“Anti-Project” 1 (Past)
Anyone who has ever been called “daddy” by small child will fully understand and appreciate the connection of life through time and the connection of the generations from one generation to the next. Things in the world, however, all cease to exist at some time. This is especially true of us, and, in the end, we are returned to dust, to molecules and blend with everything else. However, the things that we fashion with our hands and machines to help us live and to mark our passing, provide the traces and residues of our existence and convert space into place and fill it with meaning.
One of our activities in recent years has been a sort of “anti-project” – we joined a local community group, Residents for Waverley Cemetery, to help in a struggle against the proposed redevelopment and modernisation of this extraordinary and timeless place that overlooks the Pacific Ocean in Sydney. We can happily report that the community is winning this fight!
Project 2 (Present)
Humans have always rearranged the materials they find around them to create or define a space in which to exist. We try to create spaces that will protect us from nature but also allow us to enjoy it, appreciate it, and help us try to comprehend it. In our projects we try to extend space into nature – into the ground, into the sea, and into the sky. It is true that a living space stops at the door or the window, but the connection with nature does not have to stop there. We try to abolish the boundaries that separate us from the infinite.
Project 3 (Future)
Space appears to us to extend indefinitely in every direction. Yet tragically the space available to support life on earth is rapidly diminishing. Our own species has only been able to thrive at the expense of other species. As part of the effort to combat this problem we are developing this theoretical project to create very tall green buildings, up to 1000m on transport nodes, in the city of Sydney. This is a largely unknown terrain and obviously the plants and ecosystems that could be developed on each level would vary greatly with the height – for example with alpine species at the higher levels. Also, whether human life can function happily at such levels is still not conclusive, but could be tested.