White Eden. The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan
24/01/2019.
[Kuala Lumpur] Malaysia
metalocus, ANDREA GONZÁLEZ
metalocus, ANDREA GONZÁLEZ
The malaysian artist Pamela Tan used her multidisciplinary background to approach Eden's vision with a different perspective, a vision in white, inviting you to re-discover how nature can be experienced by magnifying subtle details through its organic structures, transporting you to another world, unlike anything you have encountered.
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
Front sectional elevation. The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan.
Roots details. The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan.
Eden vines details. The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan.
The Garden of Eden by Pamela Tan. Photograph by David Yeow
The public and permanent installation placed within the busy 163 Retail Park in Kuala Lumpur, a Malaysian retail center. The immersive installation takes inspiration from steel Victorian-era conservatory structures. Eden's lightweight structure pays homage to the "Crystal Palace," a large cast-iron structure built 1851 to house the Great Exhibition in London.
Description of project by Pamela Tan
“My feet may be stuck on earth,
But my mind is a realm of Eden;
The heaven’s wonder.”
‘Eden’ blurs the boundaries between man-made wonders and the beauty of nature. Opening up your senses to a world of delight and new sensations through a curated retail experience. ‘Eden’ is a celebration of natural elements, merging the lush greenery of the existing site-163 Retail Park with a wondrous landscape referenced from the mythical story of the ‘Garden of Eden’. Providing visitors with a refuge away from the hustle and bustle of daily life; as a space of solace and contemplation.
Step inside as ‘Eden’ invites you to re-discover how nature can be experienced by magnifying subtle details through its organic structures, transporting you to another world unlike anything you have encountered. An all-white landscape awaits as your senses are treated to the calm & serene environment, akin to being in the grounds of a mythical temple. A pathway covered with crystal-white pebbles leads you through an arched passageway inspired by Victorian-era steel conservatory structures. It’s light, skeletal structure is a nod to the architectural and engineering marvel of the ‘Crystal Palace’; a massive cast-iron structure built to house the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London.
In ‘Eden’, the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts, as elements melt and merge together becoming a single growing structure. Here, the garden passageway gives form to hanging ‘vines’ hovering above the arches, imitating stalagmites in a cave. Where vertical and horizontal vines converge to form seating areas as if they were organically grown from ancient tree roots.
Upon closer observation, glass spheres can be seen delicately perched on the cusp of the hanging vines; echoing water droplets balancing on the edge of leaves after rain has subsided. A cathedral-like space is achieved with the varying heights of the vines casting an intricate play of shadow upon it’s surroundings. Jules Verne’s drawings for the ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ provided the inspiration for ‘Eden’s’ cavernous-like quality. Enhancing the overall spatial experience of the journey.
‘Eden’ wishes to bring you to re-discover the joys of looking closer, to cause you to momentarily suspend your beliefs and become a child once again. To believe, if only for a moment, that you are actually in paradise.
With that, we welcome you as you begin your journey into ‘Eden’.
More information
Author
Pamela Tan
Client
163 Retail Park
Area
Floor area.- 1,685 ft², 156.54 m²
Venue
163 Retail Park, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Dates
Date of completion.- November 2018 (Permanent)
Pamela Tan
Pamela Tan explores various fields in art, architecture and design. Her work oscillates across, and blurring the boundaries between disciplines that embodies narrative and values in all form. She aim to propose speculative ideas that seeks the subtle unseen and unveil the unknown delights in all scales.
Pamela obtained a MArch RIBA Pt. 2 from the University of Greenwich, London and received distinctions for all her architectural design projects. She was the recipient of the PAM-Tan Sri Ar Chan Sau Lai Award 2016. She presented her final year design thesis project entitled ‘Soil City’ for TED X- University Teknologi PETRONAS.
Her work has been published and exhibited namely The Royal Academy of Arts, London, Future Cities 4: Reconciling Opposites, London, East of Eden, London, Architecture Malaysia, Malaysia, Design and Architecture d+a, Malaysia, and Kuala Lumpur Architecture Festival 2017 (KLAF).
Pamela gained experience from number of practices such as Max Dewdney Architect, London, Walkerbushe Architect, London, and DTLM Architect, Subang Jaya where she co-led on the award winning 'University Malaya Master Plan Ideas competition 2016' which has won first place.
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