Atmospheres and reflections. Installation "The Floor" for "Vibrating Clouds" by Aether Architects

05/05/2021. [ShenZhen] China
metalocus, CRISTINA FERNÁNDEZ

"The Floor" is an installation by Aether Architects, with architect Huang Zelin at the helm, for the "Vibrating Clouds" exhibition, which will take place at the Shenzhen Sea World Culture and Art Center, located in Shenzen, Guangzhou province. southeast of China, from late April to mid-July 2021.

The exhibition seeks to mix the artistic and visual perception of architecture with meteorological science, space, and the natural way we have to appreciate life through different reflections related to the environment, the climate, and the design that surrounds us.

The Floor – Installation for the exhibition of “Vibrating Clouds” by Aether Architects. Photography courtesy of Aether Architects.

The Floor – Installation for the exhibition of “Vibrating Clouds” by Aether Architects. Photography courtesy of Aether Architects.

Installation plan at level 7.000. The Floor – Installation for the exhibition of “Vibrating Clouds” by Aether Architects.

Installation plan at level 6.125. The Floor – Installation for the exhibition of “Vibrating Clouds” by Aether Architects.

Section. The Floor – Installation for the exhibition of “Vibrating Clouds” by Aether Architects.

Site Relationship and Geometrical Analysis. The Floor – Installation for the exhibition of “Vibrating Clouds” by Aether Architects.

"The Floor" is one of the exhibits to be held in the "Vibrating Clouds" exhibit at the Shenzhen Sea World Culture and Art Center, designed by Aether Architects within a cube-like space where an installation of plans can be displayed. atmospheric, transparent, and fluid.

The design of this exhibition seeks the reflection of the user through the artistic interpretation of the place and the different questions that they raise through the spatial transformation not only at the interior level but also at the level of the urban and natural context that surrounds us, as spaces that in the beginning, they were objective environments of the existing context.

Description of project by Aether Architects

"Floor" Installation is one of the exhibits in the exhibition "Vibrating Clouds" curated by the curator Cai Yixuan at Shenzhen Sea World Culture and Art Center from April 30 to July 18, 2021. The exhibition uses meteorological science, artistic perception, and architectural design as a medium to thinking the natural interface in life.

"In the current era, how do people breathe and how to resist climate change? How to mine the earth's resources? How can designers intervene in climate regulation and space design? How does the digital presentation of the invisible environment change our perception of the environmental cognition?"

Cai Yixuan.

1. Objective environment

Architectural design cannot ignore the relationship with the objective environment, but what exactly is the objective environment? Is it natural, or all natural and man-made environments that existed before the emergence of new buildings to be built can be understood as objective environments? Is it possible to use the exhibition area as an objective environment background? For example, indoor space can also be viewed as a site, which is a part of the existing surroundings. We observe and interpret it then to create architecture in there.

2. Based on the venue to trigger the exhibition installation

The installation in this exhibition is presented based on the interpretation of the site. The exhibition area is an internal space with a plane of 10.2x9.2 and a height of 10.9 meters, which is similar to a cube. However, a space with a plane area of 93.84 square meters and space height of 10.9 meters is an unusually tall proportion in actual physical experience. By discovering features (two-stores height space), overcoming limitations (fire retreat, ceiling structure) and obtaining clues in the site (absent two-story floor, the use of side wall friction), an atmospheric，transparent and soft floor installation is proposed.

3. The installation is both an independent object and a medium for spatial transformation

The floor installation adjusted the height ratio of the space to made the scale of the space become pleasant and comfortable; The light on the top passes through the installation is filtered and transmitted to the ground and infiltrating new colors and light in the space; The surrounding objects, the grass outside and pedestrian are absorbed on the installation’s smooth and transparent surface in a faint reflection manner; The structural cable under the illumination of the light casts a shadow as a slender forest onto the surface of the lower space. Eventually, the installation is not just part of the place physically, but also triggers new spatial/environmental phenomena through the correlation with the surroundings.

4. Thinking about the architectural interface

Floor/surface, is one of the fundamental elements in Architecture, what kind of existential characteristic is it? Observing the contemporary buildings, it seems that the floor in most buildings at present are more of a demand for market economy, in addition, it seems difficult to find other properties. As a fundamental surface for lives, why is the richness of artificial surfaces such as floor so different from natural surfaces such as sea, land and air? The installation of this exhibition is also an extended reflection on exploring the new possibilities of the fundamental elements in Architecture.