Architecture as Invitation

We are interested in architecture as invitation; an invitation to contribute to the making of a place. Fugitive Structures Pavilion is the perfect opportunity to convey this message to the broadest of audiences.

With a form derived from the spatial controls outlined in the brief, the Play Cube installation begins its life as a large blue cube, imposing itself on the zen garden space. The form is then sliced up into various 3D components which have the ability to become chairs, tables, mini grandstands, daybeds, performance stages, and play equipment to name a few possibilities.

For the duration of the installation visitors are invited to reconfigure the structure into various spatial arrangements, encouraging a sense of play and imaginative rebuilding for children and adults alike. Play Cube provides the opportunity to host a variety of events and users from book clubs, theatre troops, school groups, childrens readings, photo shoots or drawing classes. The changing forms of the structure and its various reconfigurations will be recorded during the life of the installation observing the inherent intelligence with which people adapt their own space.

This dynamic structure is made from a dense blue foam, reminiscent of the well-known architectural model making blue foam. The foam is soft, lightweight, durable and waterproof.

Play Cube celebrates the fact that it sits outside at the Sherman Galleries and instead of providing ‘shelter’ within the external room of the Zen Garden, it accepts this reality, and instead opts to maximise its scale and potency, fostering peoples engagement with the environment and each other.