Hazel and Robert H. Siegel Gallery in Brooklyn, New York was host to the 2014 Pratt Institute’s Architecture and Urban Design Graduate Exhibit. The exhibit explores digital fabrication as a method of displaying the work produced from the previous edition.
This year they constructed a floating platform that can be entered by the viewer to see the architectural models. The installation acts as both a display and a commentary on the organic growth and nature of how projects are produced and evolve together in a studio environment.
The models float atop this ‘cloud-like’ base constructed from cardboard tubes that also act as a scheme of directing the visitors to specific locations to view the projects. As mentioned, the models sit in this interior space, the position at an elevated street level while images of student’s work are displayed on the ground. They look as though they are being projected from the cardboard tubes above.
The structure of the ‘floating clouds’ is hung but using custom designed laser cut Mylar panels. The weight of the cardboard model platforms causes the Mylar to act in tension and thus resulting in its final shape. By covering the bottom in custom Tyvek panels they are obscuring the models and creating a surprise effect for the sake of the visitors’ exploration and engagement. This is a unique experience in which people can view and evaluate the student’s work.
By Ariela Lenetsky
