Drones' Beach

Project Details

Project Description

FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Rather than proposing a pure object or a skyscape or a landscape that could be inserted into the existing space, we were interested in transforming the space as a whole. Our proposal is a multi-sensory experience of a tropical beach that draws you into the depths of your imagination and allows you to escape the city.

As setting and atmosphere, the beach serves as a playground of limitless human experiences. When visitors come to this space, the sensational perceptions will all be entirely unique – shaped by different moods, cultural and personal situations, and past memories.

The project engages the existing infrastructure as an armature for design, beginning with reconstituting the concrete walls. Wooden ribs (which suggest the idea of vessel) increase the height and formal nature of the space while manipulating the vertical planes. The newly articulated surface is lined with evocative imagery and misting devices that create a “waterwomb.” The ground-plane has been transformed to suggest pure pink sand, while four “nest-infested” palm trees tower above the space. Associative smells function as instruments for memory and navigation, while the music from the DJ amplifies the experience.
Lastly, the project juxtaposes the narrative of escapism and contemporary public space. Embedded in the project is a certain inter-subjectivity between viewers, not only in the imagery that is used on the walls, but also with the incorporation of new media tools.

With some ambiguity, the project speaks to the evolution of static urban environments into participatory and performative social spaces. All the while, it offers new vantage points and multiple dimensions of reality.

Collaborators include photographer Richard Misrach and Berlin-based smell researcher, Sissel Tolaas.