Built in a museum that was abandoned during construction, the pavilion was designed at the request of the developer who purchased it for the benefit of the community. Due to the circumstances, the project’s total budget was extremely low, $4000 only for design, installation, and maintenance for 6 months.
As a Pavilion for Children’s Play, we would like to awaken the children’s senses and create new play spaces for them to play together. We aim to provide an installation work that children can play with their body in the outdoor exhibition spaces provided by the client.
Process
The clients wanted the museum and their events to actively engage the neighborhood around. How can we create a structure that embraces both space and generation? Parents can walk around while children can play. We communicated often with the museum staff how we could manage this installation effectively and successfully. We installed a medium between an art and a facility with a very low budget. We needed to maintain the installation condition for six months regardless of seasonal weather changes and museum closure days. Every week we visited the site and inspected it by doing amending wires, injecting air in the balloons or fixing any broken parts. Children often considered as if this work was supposed to be broken.
Outcomes
We designed a playing art with fresh vibrant colors; Pink and White. The Cloud Forests is an installation that caters to people of different generations, so all ages can appreciate its design; Adults living around enjoy it as an art object and children play with it. This site area is located in the outdoor exhibition space surrounded by concrete walls with openings. The installation is mainly composed of three materials: pink flexible height bars, white balloons, and aluminum wires. First, the pink flexible bars are planted into the ground varying in levels of density. The super-dense areas allow only small children to fit through and play in. There are spaces for social gathering even in a small place. Whereas, the less dense areas are wide enough for parents to walk through and supervise their children. Next, the specially designed white balloons are placed on top of the pink flexible bars. These balloons are not directly connected to the bars, but each one moves independently. Between the balloon and the bar, there is a layer of wire so that the balloons do not fall onto the floor, but the movement of children and the touching of the bar will be transmitted to the balloon, causing it to move.
Impact
We decided low cost materials to create a stimulating environment for children, which turned to become a national scale attraction to the small town. In particular, the vivid colors in the heavy and dark toned museum induced vitality and a friendly approach to the stagnant surrounding communities. On weekends, people in the local area easily visited to let kids play around and socialize with others.
Project location: Space of Design and Architecture
138-109 Annyeong, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, S-Korea 18362
Design year: 2017
Year Built: 2017
