Disobedience by Design
The spark came from Nassia Inglessis’ kinetic sculpture Disobedience. A 56-foot organism of steel and polycarbonate, it expands and contracts as you move through it. The first time I encountered it, I broke the rhythm. Instead of walking slowly, I ran. The sculpture responded in a sudden sweep of energy. “Why would you run?” someone asked. The answer was obvious: the work is called Disobedience. To obey would have been the wrong response. That moment reshaped my practice. Disobedience isn’t recklessness. It’s courage. A willingness to rethink, provoke, and question what a space can be.

Against the Generic

London penthouses are usually designed in beige. Neutral schemes, glossy surfaces, layouts engineered to appeal to everyone and no one. The result: anonymity at a premium.

Penthouse project pushed against that script. Instead of staging perfection, we staged life. Disobedience meant interrogating flow, dismantling what didn’t work, and shaping comfort around real habits. Walk-ins were sized with care. Textures softened edges. Colour shifted with mood. Every move was tested against lifestyle, not brochure polish.

A Dialogue in Motion

Clients often expect ready-made answers. We prefer a conversation. Disobedience thrives in dialogue: a push and pull, a chance to question, resist, suggest. The project became a living process, as alive as the rooms it produced.

Shaped by Challenges

Constraints became our quiet collaborators. Budgets, deadlines, limited capacity—any of these could have forced retreat. Instead, they demanded agility. Material swaps, pared-down details, smart edits: savings unlocked without loss of quality.

Breakthroughs followed. Rugs warmed wooden floors. Joinery reconfigured awkward corners. Bold art took command. A dining area anchored the home; a terrace transformed into outdoor theatre. A transparent desk concealed a hidden office for working from home. South African artistry, Italian craft, Portuguese pragmatism, and British making merged into a layered whole.

Objects with a Voice

Objects became punctuation marks. A sculptural yellow chair vibrates against London’s skyline. A cobalt console interrupts walnut calm. A long, lean bench greets with theatre, not politeness. Even marble—so often a luxury cliché—was ribbed, cut, layered into play.

Smaller gestures mattered too: crystal vases refracting light, glass side tables levelling weight, textiles lending tactility. Nothing was anonymous.

Lessons in Disobedience

Pearson Penthouse proves disobedience is not chaos. It’s curiosity, sharpened into practice. A refusal to replicate. A yes to surprise.

And the most subversive truth? Disobedience doesn’t cost more. It saves, it refines, it creates homes that are not just beautiful but alive. Spaces that don’t dictate but invite—asking you, at the right moment, to run when everyone else is walking.