Space FA | Sebastián Yrarrázabal + Veronica Arcos + Andrea Von Chrismar

“Space FA” at the NOI hotel of Santiago de Chile team is a design a store commissioned to a team of three architects Sebastián Yrarrázabal, Veronica Arcos and Andrea Von Chrismar, space inherits two floors of 12x8m located on the first floor and basement.  During its conception the team has two main objectives; the first and foremost: to create an experience for a person passing by the space and second: to generate structures for exhibiting artworks. However, what the team came up with was a diacritic out of the box solution which incorporated the two objectives amalgamated in an inventive manner.

The design solution for the experiential criteria was a unified contorted concept with a non-Euclidean geometry generated via an interpretation of a geographical tour of Chile. The architects followed a deformed outlook to the same by intervening deployable walls, ceilings, and floors; further removing edges and Cartesian planes from the requisite form. The structure was also designed and digitally fabricated in a manner that it catered the requirement of the exhibiting artwork within itself.

The larger design idea for the structure was to compartmentalize it into four rooms/ zones that recreated various spatial relationships. Each room was to function in relation to the other; which purveys a comprehensive perspective and builds an overall experience.

The ideation for each room was a unique experience and a metaphor to the identity. In room 01 a proposed dynamic structure was generated by ‘Origami’ principles. Sprouting from the floor and ceiling in the form of honeycomb and distorting an artificial topography of varying heights, the designers constructed a perceptual space in motion. An interior, intimate womb-like space was proposed in room 02, where the intersection of an ellipsoid and Fibonacci layout formed an” Egg” shell structure.

This structure didn’t use any screws or nails and was constructed through an assembly of the horizontal rings which were stacked and engaged with diagonal spiral ribs. Unfortunately, Room 03 was not built, which was presented as a transfer within the space. Fields of raised sticks shaped stalagmites created a path through space and the linear elements protrude from the floor moving upwards.  Finally, room 04 referring to light was constructed of translucent elements and visually multiplied by the input light in a feather-like, transparent manner.

“Space FA” is a perfect example of an idiosyncratic design solution where to the designers contrived a space which is not static and simply sculptural but rather spatial, dynamic and experiential. The conceptualization, computational form generation, and the material usage brings out the tactile and vivid character of the space and surely is an inspiration for design problem in today’s time.