Archinect - News

Columbia GSAPP's floating 'Cloud' installation seeks to unite a fractious campus

2024-10-24T19:08:00-04:00

Columbia GSAPP has shared details of its new student-led, temporary inflatable Cloud structure in Avery Plaza.

The installation culminates a two-semester seminar led by GSAPP faculty members Laurie Hawkinson and Galia Solomonoff.

Photo: Nicholas Knight/Columbia GSAPP

The temporary pavilion structure, which is made out of metallic foam fabricated by a Spanish manufacturer called Àrea Cúbica, "envisions a participatory experience that emphasizes the interconnectedness of peoples’ actions in shared spaces."

Photo: Nicholas Knight/Columbia GSAPP

Inside, seating is anchored by a cascading series of nets. The pavilion is 66 feet wide and suspended by 25 cables, emerging from a fourth-floor classroom window. Columbia says its appearance works to reframe "the relationship between Avery Hall and Avery Plaza, questioning notions of connectivity between interior and exterior spaces" while also "challenging boundaries of conditioned space."

Photo: Nicholas Knight/Columbia GSAPP

Beyond this good ...

'Inflatable' concrete homes are coming to the market thanks to this startup

2022-10-11T15:29:00-04:00

A new solution to America’s multifaceted housing frustrations is blowing up in New York’s Hudson River Valley thanks to a startup called Automatic Construction.

The company says it has invented a new technique named the Inflatable Flexible Factory Formwork (or IFFF), which, with the help of an air pump and compressor, can inflate first the unrolled PVC formwork for the residential structure before a concrete mix reinforced by drop-stitch fibers is poured inside to settle.

The pouring process itself takes only about an hour to complete. After the concrete has cured to around 70% strength, shoring is removed while the membrane remains in place as a means of providing waterproofing for the structure. Drywall, doors, windows, and cladding are added to complete the structure, which, for now, is finished off with rebar that CEO Alex Bell says may come pre-installed in the future.

Image courtesy Automatic Construction

"The prefabricated forms are built in our factory with reinforcement in ...

Win the Sumo Air inflatable lounger!

2016-08-26T12:13:00-04:00

From beach trips to music festivals to picnics, have easy access to comfort with the new Sumo Air Lounger. Thanks to our friends at Sumo Lounge, Archinect is giving away four Sumo Air loungers to our readers!

Read on for more and how to enter the giveaway.

Best known for their beanbag chairs, the Sumo Air lounger is light, portable, and doesn't require extra assembly equipment. Unfold the lounger, inflate it with air, and quickly seal it. (It's perfect to inflate in windy places like the beach, otherwise you might need some agility and a strong-enough breeze to do this part). Then sink into the Sumo Air, and relax.

Photos: Sumo Air.

Available in a variety of colors, the Sumo Air is made of top-quality waterproof 300 Grade Ripstop Nylon and comes in a carrying bag. Plus, it's equipped with a phone/tablet/magazine holder, a bottle/cup holder, bottle opener, and a tent peg to ground the lounger for firmness.

Archinect is giving away the Sumo Air in Black, Red, and Sky Blue.

TO ENTER THE GIVE...

Rubber Duckie, you make globalization so much fun

2014-08-21T14:32:00-04:00

A six-story-tall floating "Rubber Duck" is making its West Coast debut at the Port of Los Angeles, where it will lead more than a dozen battleships and sailboats in the Tall Ships Festival L.A. parade [...] Dubbed the world's largest rubber duck, the giant inflatable was created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. "The friendly, floating Rubber Duck has healing properties," Hofman said on the event's website. "It can relieve the world's tensions as well as define them."

Adorable? Certainly. Humorous? Obviously. Architecture? Maybe.

According to Hofman's website, the Rubber Duck "doesn't discriminate people and doesn't have a political connotation... The Rubber duck is soft, friendly and suitable for all ages!" This description accounts for all rubber duckies ever. What distinguishes this Rubber Duck is where its been. The giant inflatable has appeared on the shores of Beijing, Pittsburgh, Sydney, Osaka, São Paulo and others, to delight folks around the world. The ocean is the globalized world's bathtub, and this giant duck its bath toy.

Hofman claims the duck "doesn't have a political connotation", but its difficult to not see it as a symbol for globalized commerce. With the same universal cuteness the world-over, it visits ports (such as in Los Angeles) that support global shipping infrastructures, networking economies and cultures with a universally accessible cuteness. The duck's path is paved by human, economic forces, not natural ocean ones — un...

The world's first inflatable concert hall arrives in Japan's disaster-hit north eastern coast

2013-09-25T12:08:00-04:00

A giant purple structure believed to be the world's first inflatable concert hall is to open on Japan's disaster-hit north eastern coast. British sculptor Anish Kapoor and Japanese architect Arata Isozaki created the unusual Ark Nova, a balloon made of a coated polyester material that has been erected at a park in the town of Matsushima. The structure, which organisers say is a world's first, measures about 18m and 35m wide when fully inflated with room for about 500 guests.

Hirshhorn ‘Bubble’ risks operating at a loss, internal Smithsonian report says

2013-05-16T13:13:00-04:00

The Hirshhorn Museum’s proposed Seasonal Inflatable Structure, also known as “the Bubble,” a project announced in 2009 and intended as an architecturally and culturally transformative space on the Mall, would operate at a loss in each of three scenarios examined in an assessment done by the Smithsonian.

“We’ve said from the beginning, and the secretary [G. Wayne Clough] has said it, this is a bold project,” said Richard Kurin, the Smithsonian’s undersecretary for history, art and culture. “We’ve encouraged this, but it has to be raised by private money. In terms of doing that, we’re still trying to raise money for construction of the Inflatable Structure. We’ve been at this for some years. We hope its time has come now, but if not, we look forward to a better time.”

Big Air Package: The Largest Inflated Envelope in History by Christo

2013-03-18T14:30:00-04:00

Big Air Package is the latest project from artist Christo installed at the Gasometer Oberhausen in Germany, a facility that still holds the record as the largest disc-type gas holder in Europe that was converted into an exhibition hall in the 1990s. Big Air Package is the largest ever inflated envelope without aid of a skeleton (Gasometer Oberhausen bills it as the largest indoor sculpture in history) and reaches 90 meters high, with a diameter of 50 meters and a volume of 177,000 cubic meters.

Bubbletecture: Step inside CasaBubble and Airclad inflatables

2012-06-18T20:55:00-04:00

A pair of exhibitors at next weekend's Dwell on Design show will have a new take on living in a bubble. AirClad, a British company that makes an inflatable pool house, and CasaBubble, a California firm that designs pneumatic backyard guest rooms, are trying to capitalize on the outdoor-living and small-space trends with structures built using little more than lightweight PVC and air.

Grenade - Winner of the Pfff Inflatable Architecture Competition

2012-03-07T18:46:00-05:00

The results of the Pfff Inflatable Architecture competition, organized by CityVision and FARM, have recently been announced at MACRO - Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome. Competition winner is the concept 'Grenade' by Emmanuel Sitbon and Selma Feriani of Paris-based SITBON ARCHITECTES.

Columbia University GSAPP and SOA Unveil Temporary/Contemporary Pavilion – BOB

2011-05-25T18:51:21-04:00

BOB, an inflatable cloud above a public bathroom and forum, will officially open on June 1, 2011. The pavilion is the result of a pedagogical experiment involving graduate art and architecture students at Columbia University. Supported by the Bridge Grant for the Art and Architecture, Professors Galia Solomonoff (GSAPP), Nathan Carter (GSAPP), and Liam Gillick (SoA) advised and provoked a joint team from the Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation, and Planning (GSAPP), and the School of the Arts (SoA).

The pavilion will be open from June 1st to July 25th, and features a public restroom installation, a projection screen, twelve student-designed seats and a bar beneath an inflatable canopy. The public restroom, which includes a composting toilet, is enclosed by a screen for the projection of ideas. Reconsidering the idea of graffiti and public anonymity, images and shadows are cast upon a translucent scrim. Privacy is preserved, but information is not restricted by solid wal...