Columbia GSAPP encourages "playful interaction" with inflatable pavilion

A group of Columbia GSAPP professors and students have created an inflatable installation for the New York university's campus that hung suspended between two buildings and contained seating made of nets.

The temporary Cloud Pavilion (Cloud) measured 66 feet (20 metres) wide and consisted of an inflatable, silver doughnut-shaped volume with a large net that draped through its centre to create seating.

The installation was suspended by 25 cables stretching between Columbia's Avery and Fayerweather Hall and over a public courtyard.

Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) professors Laurie Hawkinson and Galia Solomonoff led two teams of students over the course of a Fall and Spring semester to create the piece, which explores human interaction in public spaces.

"Cloud envisions a participatory experience that emphasizes the interconnectedness of peoples' actions in shared spaces," said the team.

"The pavilion encourages playful interaction between people, their environment, and one another."

The pavilion's main body was fabricated by Spanish inflatables manufacturer Àrea Cúbica and was powered by four electric blowers.

Its bulbous shape lightly touched the surrounding buildings, while the supporting cables emerged from the nearby roofs, windows and the plaza floor.

A large net above the shape fell through its centre opening, where a series of netted columns hung from its suspended form.

Dark blue cushions were placed inside the columns' feet to create seating, which visitors could move and adjust on the plaza floor.

"Stretched above the inflatable is a large net that positions seating within, which descends into the Plaza through the center, creating a device for people to modify and curate the space," said the team.

"This installation serves as a provocation to bring the broader Columbia community and GSAPP together."

Previously, researchers developed 3D-printed synthetic muscles for robots at the school.

Earlier in the year Columbia University was the subject of boycotts by architects after the administration's treatment of students protesting the war in Gaza.

The photography is by Nicholas Knight

Cloud Pavilion was on view from 21 - 30 October at Columbia University. For more exhibitions, talks and fairs in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.

Project credits:
Design leads: Laurie Hawkinson and Galia Solomonoff
Teaching assistants: Tristan Schendel and Syed Haseeb Amjad, supported by Dean Andrés Jaque
Student team: Aashka Ajmera, Harshini Ashok, Zackary Bryson, Carmen Chan, Jinjian Chen, Yuan Chen, Ken Farris, Haoge Gan, Preethi Ganesh, Candelaria Gassiebayle, Aishwarya Garg, Eric Hagerman, Conrad Hiller, Inbal Himelblau-Denman, Janhavi Hinge, Yilin Huang, Kelsey Jackson, Mariam Jacob, Harshvardhan Jhaveri, Jillian Katz, Kelvin Lee, Jason Li, Rilka Li, Xinyi Liu, Noah Miller, Erisa Nakamura, Rena Okamoto, Jared Orellana, Shrey Patel, Han Qin, Ammar Rassai, Yansong Wang, Haoran Wu, Andrea Yang, Dongxiao Yang, Xavier Zhapan-Sullivan, Jianyu Zheng, Devyanshi Arya, Karim Baba, Qizhen Chen, Lula Chou, Daniel Hahn, Yun Jeong Han, Martina Hollmann, Laurent-Shixun Huang, Ka Heun Hyun, Teymour Khoury, Adi Klein, Leslie Li, Lucy Li, Lajja Mehta, Franco Nocioni Sr., Matija Pogorilic, Maria Paula Rico, Khushi Saraiya, Anna Schmitz, Longjiu Sun, Matilda Terolli, Nikoletta Zakynthinou Xanthi, Hanyin Zhang, Joe Zhang, Yunhao Zhong
Additional support: Danielle Smoller, Janet Reyes, Mariam Jacob, James Nanasca, Yonah Elorza, the Columbia Facilities and Operations Team
Engineering consulting: Hubert Chang, Silman Structural Solutions
Fabrication: Àrea Cúbica, GSAPP Making Studio.

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