Archinect - News

Inside the creation and demise of the Temple of Together at Burning Man 2024

2024-09-11T07:00:00-04:00

With Burning Man 2024 concluded, organizers have shared imagery depicting the building, use, and ultimate demise of the event’s main temple. Designed by Caroline “Glitter Kitty” Ghosn, the Temple of Together was inspired by Lebanese Khaizaran chairs and the artist’s own decades-long battle with multi-generational trauma and illness.

Image credit: Rand Larson

The design of the temple seeks to portray “the light that emerges when we come together with all parts of ourselves and with the oneness we share with all living things.” The leading motif of the temple is the representation of two hands coming together in prayer, symbolizing a common gesture of unity, humility, and respect to almost all spiritual traditions.

Image credit: Rand Larson

The gesture of unity is depicted literally by the two hands creating the temple’s entrance archway, but also in a more abstract sense through neo-Gothic pointed arches repeated throughout the design, ...

Portland State architecture students create a demountable stage structure for Pickathon Festival

2024-08-02T19:58:00-04:00

Oregon's annual Pickathon Experiential Music Festival is in full swing, and a highlight is the return of a timber stage design created by students at the Portland State University School of Architecture. Their Cherry Hill stage is one of nine incorporated into the festival’s 12 “neighborhoods”, playing host to 18 different acts through Sunday, August 4th, in the Portland suburb of Happy Valley.

This year's stage joins previous student designs that were made from repurposed apple bins (2022), steam-bent dimensional lumber (2016, 2018, and 2023), cardboard tubes (2015), shipping pallets (2014), and wooden trusses, which were later reused to make sleeping pods for the Clackamas County Veterans Village outside Portland in 2017.

Image courtesy Marc Stein/Portland State University

Students working on its design claimed Kengo Kuma as their influence, stating, “His ability to use very simple wood repetitively to make a beautiful, grand sculpture is amazing.”

Image courtesy Marc Stein/Portl...

Coachella debuts 2024 art installations, its ‘largest immersive and architectural works yet’

2024-04-16T11:43:00-04:00

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has completed work on the 2024 edition of its on-site art program. The acclaimed event is taking place across two weekends: April 12–14 and 19–21.

The three artistic works are described by the festival as "redefining the boundaries of large-scale art, inviting festival-goers to engage with visionary works that ask viewers to question their definition of self, explore the boundaries between reality and imagination & take part in creating a new future together."

"Monarchs: A House in Six Parts" by HANNAH. Image credit: Lance Gerber

"Monarchs: A House in Six Parts" by HANNAH explores the fusion of 3D printing with traditional craftsmanship, comprising a series of pavilions that “invite interaction and contemplation.” A collaboration between Cornell University professors Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivkovic, the piece reimagines architectural design through the lens of digital fabri...

Burning Man unveils first-ever Black Rock City Temple design from female BIPOC lead artist

2024-02-13T12:34:00-05:00

Burning Man’s official 2024 Temple for Black Rock City has been unveiled as an optimistic design rising to a height of 70 feet and shrowded in a woven latticed screen cladding with repeated neo-Gothic archways that carry a metaphor of togetherness amidst a backdrop of global conflict.

The design took its charge from notable past iterations from David Best and will be called 'Temple of Together' as denoted by its repeated motif of hands touching in unison. Burner Caroline “Glitter Kitty” Ghosn was the Lead Artist chosen for her design, which is inspired by Lebanese Khaizaran chairs and her battle with multi-generational trauma and illness.

Temple of Together by Caroline Ghosn. Design rendering by Maissa Sader

Organizers say: “We look for a design that is novel, yet still fits within the Burning Man Temple tradition of being a treasured sanctuary ...

Coachella announces lineup for 2024 installation designers

2024-01-17T11:44:00-05:00

The art and design lineup has been announced for the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The acclaimed event is set to take place across two weekends: April 12–14 and 19–21.

Besides major musical acts, this year’s festival will include installations by HANNAH, Morag Myerscough, Nebbia, Do LaB, NEWSUBSTANCE, Robert Bose, and Raices Cultura.

While HANNAH describes its work as “inherently derived from materiality, digital construction protocols, robotic routines, new technologies, odd construction techniques, and bottom-up design logics,” Morag Myerscough summarizes her mantra as “make happy those who are near and those who are far will come.” Nebbia Works is “fundamentally driven by a curiosity of all the idiosyncrasies, contradictions and undefined boundaries of our world,” while NEWSUBSTANCE, Do LaB, Robert Bose, and Raices Cultura are returning to the festival where they constructed installations in 2023.

Previously featured Coachella installations

Photo by Lance Gerber,...

Coachella debuts 2023 art installations as festival opens to the public

2023-04-19T11:31:00-04:00

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has debuted four anchoring art installations as part of its 2023 program. According to the organizers, the newly-commissioned sculptures by Kumkum Fernando, Vincent Leroy, Güvenç Özel, and Maggie West seek to bring “color, light, and alternate perspectives to the charged atmosphere” and act as “fresh, colorful, and architecture beacons that transform the iconic Coachella landscape and various times of day and night.”

The Messengers by Kumkum Fernando. Image credit: Lance Gerber, courtesy of Coachella

Kumkum Fernando’s The Messengers comprises three monolithic figures that appear as giant robots or action figures when viewed from afar. The Sri Lankan artist drew inspiration from the vivid colors of South Asian art and architecture, particularly Tibetan and Hindu temples, as well as folk tales of gods and demons. The resulting figures, standing between 65 and...

Burning Man reveals first physical temple design post-Covid

2023-02-02T12:52:00-05:00

The annual temple design to feature in this year’s Burning Man festival has been announced: The "Temple of the Heart" concept is designed by Polish-born, San Francisco-based entrepreneur Ela Madej with the help of her co-lead Reed Finlay and will be the festival’s first physical temple since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago.

In a blog post, Burning Man's creative team said: "Selecting the Temple for Black Rock City is a uniquely challenging decision. We look for a design with a strong visual impact that can serve as a meaningful space to hold the full range of our community’s experiences and offerings. There are both conceptual and practical considerations. Is the Temple creative and beautiful enough to be an artwork in and of itself but simple enough that it doesn’t get in the way or dictate an experience? Will it burn well, and safely? Have the applicants planned for LNT, and considered sustainability in their design and execution?"

A sketch of the temple courtes...

Coachella announces 2023 art installations from Do LaB and Güvenç Özel

2023-01-12T11:24:00-05:00

The art and design lineup for this year’s Coachella festival has been announced ahead of the two-week event, which takes place in the modernism-rich Southern California hotspot from April 13th to the 23rd.

This year’s festival will include installations from Maggie West, Kumkum Fernando, Robert Bose, Don Kennell, Raices Cultura, UCLA IDEAS Studio instructor Güvenç Özel (whom our own Katherine Guimapang sat down with for a 2021 interview), conceptual environmentalist designer and artist Vincent LeRoy, and Do LaB. Another large-scale spiraling viewing platform structure named Spectra from the studio NEWSUBSTANCE will also grace the Empire Polo Field. Each will complement a packed musical lineup that includes The Chemical Brothers, Pusha T, and Bad Bunny, among many talented others.

2023 Coachella Lineup

Their installations will join past works from an illustrious group of international designers and architects who have contributed to past festivals, including Architensions, Office Kov...

Coachella 2020 to include installations by Oana Stănescu and Architensions

2020-01-03T14:45:00-05:00

Mark your calendars, Coachella 2020 has announced their line up of performers and artists participating in April! Besides the music, crowds, and overall desert festival ambiance, Coachella has been a breeding ground for emerging artists and designers showcasing their works.

This year the works of Romanian architect Oana Stănescu (who made her first appearance here on Archinect as a student blogger), New York/Rome-based architectural studio Architensions, and several others will be showcased at the festival.

2020 Coachella Lineup

Last year's lineup included the works of Andrew Kovacs of Architecture Affiliates and Francis Kéré of Kéré Architecture. Although many Coachella fans love basking in the musical sounds of famous artists like Flume, Peggy Gou, and Frank Ocean, many have grown to enjoy the large-scale installations scattered across the Coachella Valley. With the announcement of this year's lineup, we're positive many are getting their Coachella outfits ready and selfie poses ...

Coachella 2019 lineup announced with installations from Francis Kéré, Office Kovacs, and more

2019-01-03T13:40:00-05:00

The highly anticipated lineup for the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been announced, with Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, and Ariana Grande headlining the two-weekend experience. A solid mix of rock, indie, hip hop, and electronic artists will be joining to round out the rest of the stages.

While music acts like Solange and Weezer woo the crowds, concertgoers will also be treated to large-scale installations by architects and artists responsible for the latter half of Coachella's proper name. Years past have brought dynamic works by designers like Edoardo Tresoldi and Bureau Spectacular, among others.

This year, over half a dozen large-scale installations will be the center of attention at Coachella. New presenters for 2019 include familiar names such as the Berlin-based Burinabé architect Francis Kéré, local studio Office Kovacs, and painter Sophia Enriquez. Returning participants such as the absurdist art duo Dedo Vabo, the experiential designers Poetic Kineti...

The urban planning of Burning Man

2017-08-30T16:55:00-04:00

In a moment when the powers at be can't even fund the country’s shambling roads and bridges, the 2,000 organizers and volunteers who run Burning Man put together—and then take apart—a 70,000-person city in the space of two months.

As Burning Man is taking it's 31st annual round, Wired takes a look at how the famed festival occupies the land of the Black Rock Desert. While temporary and free of the bounding presence of permanent residents and buildings, it nevertheless bares some resemblance to a city. Springing out of nothing-ness with no need for professional builders, the settlement still conforms to some rules—the Bureau of Land Management has had a firm hand in guiding Burning Man since the mid 90's, imposing the basic half-moon grid layout, developing plans to deal with sanitation, emergency services, security, camping, traffic, parking, water, food supplies, communication, lasers, and fire. In the event of bad weather or 'social' unrest the Bureau will step in again.

Image via commons.wikimedia.org

Black Rock City has essentially built up its own bureaucracy—the Nevada Department of Transportation helps the 70,000 attendees get in and out of the site and the Department of Public Works paints, welds, re-...