Atmospheric Architecture

 

Posted by Coupon | Filed under Art & Design

So recently, I came across this nifty little exhibit called Cardboard Cloud by designers Fantastic Norway from, um, Norway. Based on the “thrill” of unpacking (having moved 10 times in three years, I would strongly disagree with this sentiment), the installation is comprised of 3000 hanging cardboard boxes that creates a pixelated cloud above the exhibition space:

Seeing this got me thinking of other projects/buildings I’ve seen that use an atmospheric motif as a conceptual basis for design. After the click through are a few that stand out.

1) Singapore World Expo pavilion - Design Act

Similar to the Cardboard Cloud above, Design Act’s “Digital cloud” is comprised of thousands of stacked modular cubes of varying transparency to create a cloud-like appearance, but at a much larger scale. The pavilion is somewhat foreboding from the exterior and cantilevers over the main entrance, which is through a small subterranean tunnel (an allusion to the many back alley entrances to buildings in Singapo)r:

However, once inside, the combination of lighting effects, interactive exhibits, and spatial experiences is meant to invoke a somewhat utopian mentality by creating airy, open, and dream like spaces. Lighting within the cubes constantly change the color and feeling of the structure, and performances throughout make each space unique.

Unfortunately, this design wasn’t selected as the winner of the competition, so how these ideas would translate into reality won’t be known. Waah waaaaaah