Fugitive Structures, an annual competitive architectural initiative by Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF) and BVN Donovan Hill, has been won by AR-MA architectural practice for their project ‘Trifolium’.
Trifolium, a digitally fabricated pavilion structure, will now showcase its creative use of Corian panels and other futuristic materials at the Fugitive Structures event held at the SCAF gallery.
Competitors were implored by Dr Gene Sherman (Executive Director, SCAF), in partnership with BVN Donovan Hill, to create a structure that uses the most progressive technology currently available.
AR-MA’s response was a digitally fabricated configuration comprised of progressive materials that are shaped in curves and tessellating plates and illuminated by LED lighting.
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Trifolium’s exterior skin is comprised of mineral composite Corian panels (in white) which are joined by stainless steel brackets and robotically trimmed High-density polyethylene (HDPE) setting blocks.
Below the shell are 152 laser-cut cylindrical black mirror-polished stainless steel interior panels, suspended in a myriad of geometric shapes and angles.
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A fibre optic lighting system is imbedded in the pavilion’s paved floor and shoots light at the polished mirrors, creating what Sophie Holvast of SCAF calls a “kaleidoscope sensation”.
“Inside, the space feels at once intimate and endless through the playful use of black polished stainless steel mirror as the structure's interior skins” she said.
“A series of LED lights imbedded in the pavilion's paved floor amplifies this kaleidoscope sensation.”
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Robert Beson, AR-MA Director says that although the exterior wasn’t an afterthought, it was the relationship between the interior and the exhibition participants that drove the project concept.
“This pavilion allows us to conduct a series of experiments on a small structure. In particular, we’re interested in the interior and in constructing an affective relationship between it and the participants as well as the exterior,” he said.
“We designed the interior first and foremost. It’s not that everything else is an afterthought or a necessity, but the interior drives the whole project.”
Watch the construction video of the Trifolium below:
As winner of the annual competitive architectural initiative, Trifolium will stay displayed at the SCAF until Saturday, 13 December 2014.
Image credits:
AR-MA: Trifolium, 2014
Corian panels, stainless steel brackets, robotically trimmed HDPE setting blocks, mirror polished black stainless steel panels, mild steel plate with paint finish, cast granite aggregate pavers and fibre optic lighting system
Commissioned by Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Sydney. Photo: Brett Boardman