MINIMAL RELAXATION
MOCA MOCK UPS
MoCA Shanghai
Shrink Wrap, MDF, Netting
50’x75’x15’
Shanghai, China | 2012
Partners: Chi Bhatia, Gabby Gertel, Ty Harrison, Luya He, Justin Kang, Michelle Kraintz, Xiaoyun Li, Xinyue (Amber) Ma, Arjun Mahesh, Xiaojin Mi, Nicole Stitzel, Yimeng Wang, Sahar Youdai, Chaoxun Zhang
Photo Credit to Wandile Kraai, Justin Kang, and Chi Batia
Minimal Relaxation was part of the Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai’s exhibition Mock-Up: Architecture of Spatial Art. The exhibit consisted of a number of installations by different architects reimagining standard residential housing programs. Done with University of Southern California’s American Academy in China, our installation used the MoCA dining terrace as an opportunity to create an urban garden comprised of two parts, a tension canopy structure which frames views of the near by buildings and an undulating landscape which connects the canopy form to the ground.
The Canopy explores a similar logic to Frei Otto and his exploration of minimal surfaces in the formation of tensile membranes. After looking at a number of different material options in the formation of this surface, ranging from fabric membranes to bungee-cords, a soccer net was chosen. The net was 20x20m and had to be custom built for the project. The net was stretched across the terrace by hanging it from steel cable. Bamboo poles and fishing wire acted as attractor points relating to the view of different skyscrapers surrounding People’s Square.
The Landscape plays off the Canopy by rising up to where the canopy drops down, creating a point of tension where they meet. The Landscape is made of MDF boxes that have been shrink wrapped with white translucent plastic. The top side is open allowing intelligently designed profiles to take advantage of the shrink wrap’s inherent qualities to create different smooth lofted forms. Each box holds LED light that is connected to a motion sensor set at the entrance to the exhibit. When trigger the the color of the lighting shifts throughout the piece.
