Located in the Great Hall, of National Building Museum, Hive, by Studio Gang, is the fourth Summer Block Party iteration. It will be made of more than 2,700 wound paper tubes whose heights will range from several inches to 10 feet tall.
The tubes vary in size from several inches to 10 feet high and will be interlocked to create three dynamic interconnected, domed chambers. Reaching 60 feet tall, the installation’s tallest dome will feature an oculus over 10 feet in diameter. The tubes feature a reflective silver exterior and vivid magenta interior.
“Using wound paper tubes, a common building material with unique sonic properties, and interlocking them to form a catenary dome, we create a hive for these activities, bringing people together to explore and engage the senses,” Jeanne Gang said in a statement.
“Using wound paper tubes, a common building material with unique sonic properties, and interlocking them to form a catenary dome, we create a hive for these activities, bringing people together to explore and engage the senses,” Jeanne Gang said in a statement.
Although the statement describes parallels to Eero Saarinen's Gateway Arch, Brunelleschi's Dome, and vernacular Musgum mud huts, we can't help but think back to the first collaboration of the National Building Museum and Jeanne Gang's firm: Marble Curtain, part of the 2003 exhibition Masonry Variations. Although that earlier installation explored the structural impact of stone held in tension, and the new installation exploits a material that is conversely recyclable, lightweight, and renewable, the curved space of Marble Curtain is reiterated to a degree in Hive.
Previous Summer Block Party installations: ICEBERGS by James Corner Field Operations, 2016, BEACH by Snarkitecture, 2015, BIG Maze by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, 2014
"Hive" will be open to the public from 4 July to 4 September 2017.
