Snarkitecture's Drift Pavilion for Design Miami/ 2012
Since 2008, Design Miami/ has worked with emerging architectural practices to re-imagine the traditional tent. The designs of Aranda\Lasch and Moorehead & Moorehead have slit, pinched, woven, latticed and inverted the clear span tent, both experimenting with unconventional materials and custom-engineering the modular components to create new structures and façades. This December, NY-based collaborative practice Snarkitecture takes tent manipulation to new heights.
Visitors to Design Miami/ 2012 will be welcomed by Drift, a floating environment comprised of massive inflatable tubes, resembling a topographical landscape in suspension: an ascending mountain above and an excavated cavern below.
The cascading cylinders of Drift lift to create paths of circulation around hanging stalactite forms, providing visitors with a meandering gateway to the fair. Apertures in the canopy above frame views of the Miami sky and allow sunlight into the shaded pavilion. Filtered light passes between the tubes of the excavated cavern, creating a space at the confluence of interaction, conversation and contemplation.
Approached by inflatable structure manufacturer Inflate, Snarkitecture’s Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham were inspired to reimagine the material of the familiar white vinyl tent, via a large-scale tubular landscape. Incorporating their reductive design methodology, the studio sought to create an unexpected moment of exploration for visitors entering and exiting the fair.
Their final design will also feature a courtyard seating installation, which will serve as a place for visitors to relax, socialize and enjoy the view.
