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.
2) Air Forrest - Mass Studies
This temporary pavilion once located located in Denver, Colorado designed by Korean architects Mass Studies, was commissioned for a cultural even that took place in the city during the 2008 DNC.
The project is constructed of a pneumatic fabric that stretches over 80 feet long and 12 feet high. The fabric is printed with various sized dots, giving the canopy a dynamic appearance.
At the base of each of the “columns” is an air pump which inflates structure, and a lighting element that allows the pavilion to glow at night.
Due to the lightweight nature of the pavilion’s design, it sways with each passing breeze, heightening the perception of being under a low passing cloud.
3) Coop Himmelb(l)au - BMW World
Austrian architects Coop Himmelb(l) have had a fascination with clouds and atmospheric conditions since their inception in the late 1970’s. The parenthesis around the last “L” in the firm’s name gives an alternate translation from German to either “sky building” or “blue sky.” Early pioneers of the deconstructionist movement in architecture in the 80’s, the firm’s philosophy of architecture is commonly based on the volatile, unpredictable, and somewhat destructive nature of weather pattens. For their recently completed showroom for BMW in Munich, Germany, these concepts become apparent:
A singular, solid roof fluctuates above a glass structure below. The dips and waves of the roof occur in response to the various programmatic elements happening below in the showroom.
The cloud-like canopy eventually terminates with a twisting vortex-like structure facing the highway adjacent to the site. On the interior, this serves as a spiral ramp which takes visitors to the top level and mini observation deck over the building:
The entire roof system has been turned into an atmospheric microcosm. What begins as a gently, slightly fluctuating plane slowly morphs into a distorted, twisting cyclone in order to visually anchor the building to the site. The roof also creates a singular, unifying system to tie together the various functions within the building.
If you are interested in Himmelb(l)au’s theories/teachings, check out the recently published (and aptly titled, based on this post) book Get off My Cloud.
4) The Cloud - Atelier Hapsitus
Moving on from the more metaphorical examples above, Atelier Hapsitus’ proposal for a resort in Dubai is a very literal and almost cartoonish representation of an atmospheric condition:
The dozens of “rain” streams that fall below the cloud are actually structural columns, and also house the elevators to will bring guests to resort roughly 1000ft above the ground.
Hapsitus’ design is more of a commentary on the current state of Dubai then it is on weather conditions. Like Design Act’s pavilion in #1, they are trying to create a dream-like object to counter the rapid rate of development and construction of faceless buildings in the city. The horizontal cloud in the sky serves as the antithesis of the constantly growing vertical glass towers of the area. I also can’t help but notice the irony in creating permanent a rain cloud above one of the driest and hottest areas in the planet; the building would become a permanent physical mirage to those entering the city.
5) Blur Building - Diller and Scofidio
I think a proper conclusion to this post is a building that takes all of the representational devices of the previous five projects and takes it one step further by creating a building that actually is a cloud:
Unlike the projects above where the interpretation of an atmospheric condition is used in order to achieve a certain design clarity and concept, the Blur building’s intent is to create something that is indiscernible and decidedly low tech. Jets at the base of the building suck water up from the lake and pass it through hundreds of nozzles to create a mist. The actual structure is nothing more then a series of steel ramps and platforms with a bar in the center so you can grab a cocktail in the middle of a cloud:
However, this form is completely imperceivable once one is “inside” the cloud. The constantly shifting mist coupled with the white noise created by the jets creates a fairly disorienting experience; instead of being highly aware of a discernible tectonic environment, one is surrounded by something that is, per the architects, “formless, featureless, depthless, scaleless, massless, surfaceless, and dimensionless.” It’s a non-building, who’s sense of enclosure is dictated entirely by an atmospheric condition. Check the video below for the pavilion in action:
The architect’s use these aspects to their advantage, and guests are given special raincoats fitted with wireless communicators that omit sounds and project light based on your proximity and similarity to other guests (each visitor fills out a survey before entering, so the device knows which characteristics people have in common):
Unfortunately, the pavillion was only a temporarily instalation for the Swiss expo in 2002, and was later dismantled (and possibly sold, to some guy in Switzerland who now has a cloud producting ovaloid hooked up to his kiddie pool). For further reading, be sure to check out a book on the building Blur: The Making of Nothing.
Tags: architecture, atmosphere, cloud, rain, sky, storm
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