The Cosmic House

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The Cosmic House

Photography: Sue Barr.
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The Cosmic House, one of the world’s most important examples of Post-Modern architecture, was designed by Charles Jencks and in collaboration with other Post-Modern architects.

27/07/2026

‘A lot of these homes now don't look so remarkable because they’ve been stripped of some of their character. So what makes them special is Jencks’ framing: his captions and his curation. Anyone can make meaning even out of very ordinary things. I find that very encouraging.’

A memorable moment from the Q&A following our lecture with Aurora Tang () a few weeks ago. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to the AA ) for collaborating on the event.

Head to the link in bio to to read Charles’s introduction to ‘Daydream Houses of Los Angeles’ with annotations by Aurora Tang.

📸 1. Photo by Andreea Teleaga. 2. Left: Charles Jencks; Right: Aurora Tang.

08/07/2026

Sonia Leimer’s 'Cosmic Dust': Screening and Book Launch

Join us on the evening of 31 July for the launch of 'Cosmic Dust', a new publication arising from Sonia Leimer’s recent exhibition at The Cosmic House. The exhibition was inspired by Leimer’s ongoing research into micrometeorites found within rooftop dust. While this ‘cosmic dust’ obscures our view of the universe when looked at through the telescope, viewed under the microscope it becomes an important source for scientists to study the formation of the Solar system. Through the media of sculpture and film, Leimer’s exhibition alternated between domestic and planetary scales, making the vastness of the universe tangible within the intimate spaces of Charles Jencks’ Cosmic House.

The evening, kindly hosted by our friends at Flat Time House in Peckham, will start with a screening of Leimer’s film 'Cosmic House', which begins with a microscopic scan of dust collected from the roof of The Cosmic House before expanding into architecture and landscape. Following the screening, Sonia Leimer () will be in conversation with Eszter Steierhoffer (), Director of The Cosmic House. The event concludes with a drinks reception.

The event takes place at Flat Time House (), a gallery and former studio home of British conceptual artist John Latham.

Booking essential, please RSVP to [email protected]

29/06/2026

We are delighted to announce a new exclusive limited-edition print, Now We Worship (All That Changes You. Metamorphosis) (2025) by Isaac Julien, launched to coincide with the site-specific presentation of ‘All That Changes You. Metamorphosis’ (2025) at The Cosmic House (on view until 18 December 2026).

Created especially for The Cosmic House, this print is generously offered in support of its mission. All proceeds will go directly towards our educational and curatorial programmes. We are deeply grateful to Isaac Julien.

Head to the link in bio for more information and how to purchase the print.

📸 Isaac Julien, Now We Worship (All That Changes You. Metamorphosis), 2025. Inkjet print on Ilford Gold Fibre Gloss with glitter, 58 x 77 cm (unframed), Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro © Isaac Julien

21/06/2026

🎉 Charles Jencks was born on this day of the summer solstice in 1939 🎉

Charles was a writer, critic, designer and teacher whose work defined and refined the disparate and wide-reaching ideas behind Post-Modernism. Arguably the most widely-read and influential writer on architecture of the late twentieth century, his books were pivotal in explaining, illuminating and developing the often complex ideas behind Post-Modernism. The Cosmic House was a physical manifestation of those ideas incorporating and metabolising references to developments in art history and science, philosophy, cosmology and the body.

Fiercely active until the day he died in 2019, Charles put in place the framework for The Cosmic House to be preserved as a museum and to provide a forum for the ongoing discussion of ideas in architecture, design, science and culture and particularly the strands of each affected by the Post-Modernism he was himself so instrumental in directing.

📸 Charles Jencks in the Sundial Arcade at The Cosmic House. Slide from The Cosmic House collection [CJA-TCH-b-29-45].

19/06/2026

Join curator and researcher Aurora Tang () on 9 July at the Architectural Association () for an illustrated presentation on revisiting Charles Jencks’ ‘Daydream Houses of Los Angeles’ (1978).

In the 1970s, Jencks photographed Los Angeles’ eccentric vernacular houses, compiling over 60 images into a playful book that invited readers to embark on their own architectural tour. In this presentation, Aurora Tang will discuss her ongoing rephotography project, considering the informal photograph, the enthusiast, the tour, the changing appearance of LA’s residential neighborhoods, and the significance of Jencks’ book today, nearly 50 years after its release.

This event is a collaboration between the AA and The Cosmic House. It forms part of the public programme for the display ‘Aurora Tang: Revisiting Daydream Houses of Los Angeles’ at The Cosmic House, on view until 28 August 2026.

Link to book in bio.

05/06/2026

✨ Chronogramorama ✨

In the hope that it will be useful for researchers, as well as interesting for anyone curious about how ideas and methods evolve, we've made a complete—to the best of our knowledge—timeline of the evolution of Charles Jencks’s Evolutionary Tree, as and where each version appeared. We will update it with any new examples that we find.

The contemporary reflection and, in some sense, evolution of Charles’s methods continues through our multi-year project ‘Chronograms of Architecture’. Beginning with a symposium at the Architectural Association (), an exhibition and talks and workshops at CIVA (.architecture), we have commissioned new chronograms by: Pier Vittorio Aureli / Marson Korbi, Mario Carpo / Mark Garcia, Charles L. Davis II / Curry J. Hackett, Lionel Devlieger / Michaël Ghyoot / Adam Przywara / Karen Steukers / Arne Vande Capelle / Louise Vanhee, Maria Fedorchenko / Yeliz Abdurahman, Urtzi Grau / Francesca Hughes, MOULD, Bryony Roberts / Abriannah Aiken, and Ilze Wolff. Much work remains to be done.

The latest edition of ‘Chronograms of Architecture’ is now open in Johannesburg at the GSA (). Head to the link in bio for more info about the exhibition and to access the full Chronogramorama.

📸 See comments

22/05/2026

Join us at The Cosmic House on 2June for a very special Patrons’ event: Fireside Chat with author Jung Chang CBE in conversation with Chairwoman Lily Jencks (). The evening will begin with a drinks reception, followed by a conversation and a light dinner.

Jung Chang is the acclaimed and bestselling author of 'Wild Swans' (1991) and 'Mao: The Unknown Story' (2005). In this intimate event, Chang will reflect on her writing practice and latest book, 'Fly, Wild Swans' (2025); her long-standing relationship with the Jencks family; and insights into the Chinese aesthetics embedded within The Cosmic House.

Fireside Chats is a series of intimate gatherings at The Cosmic House featuring a diverse range of speakers, followed by a light dinner. Created especially for The Cosmic House Patrons, these events are only occasionally opened to the wider public when limited spaces become available.

Head to the link in bio to book tickets for this special event.

📸 Jung Chang. Photo by Zhang Xiaohong.

12/05/2026

✨ Terry Farrell was born on this day in 1924 ✨

Sir Terry Farrell worked closely with Maggie and Charles Jencks on the design of The Cosmic House, resolving the complex spatial and structural features of the house. Decades later, Farrell and Charles collaborated again on ‘Landform’ at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. Inspired by concepts in fractal geometry and chaos theory, the work was Charles’ first commissioned landscape and formed part of Farrell’s overall redesign of the gallery. ‘Landform’ went on to win the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year in 2004.

📸 All images from The Cosmic House collection
1. Euda with drawings [CJA-EDH-7-5]
2. Euda_02.jpg [CJA-EDH-7-6]
3. Euda steps.jpg [CJA-EDH-7-4]
4. Euda Steps & Seats.jpg [CJA-EDH-7-3]

01/05/2026

This National Space day, we’re publishing the first of a two part commission in which artist and researcher Jamie Allen () elaborates on the idea of ‘cosmic withdrawal’ as a cultural and architectural tradition of selectively blocking out the universe.

Part two of the commission will explore cyclical forms, chronograms, and cosmogenic patterns, themes and generative languages of the temporal, diagrammatic variety; the kind of conceptual, transferable representations championed by Charles Jencks throughout his work for describing—and described as—Post-Modern.

Head to the link in our bio to read the full article.

24/04/2026

✨ Happy Birthday Piers Gough ✨

Piers Gough designed the Dome of Water, one of the most spectacular spaces in The Cosmic House. Thinking that a dome would make a great whirlpool bath, he looked through Charles Jencks' slides of Roman domes to find the one that would look best upside down. He chose Francesco Borromini’s dome for the Baroque church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, joking that he "put the borrow into Borromini".

📸
1. Piers Gough, Designs for the Dome of Water, Undated (c. 1978-1984).
2. The Dome of Water at The Cosmic House. Photo by Sue Barr.

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