construction netting gets re-contextualized in city fabric installation

construction netting gets re-contextualized in city fabric installation
images courtesy of david gregory

vancouver-based artists/architects rebecca bayer and matthew soules present their collaborative project ‘city fabric’. the piece was created in partnership with 221A gallery, and the burrard arts foundation, and is installed beneath the south side of the burrard bridge in vancouver, british columbia.

‘city fabric’ is located at the intersection of the burrard bridge and the vancouver seawall 

the installation is composed entirely of construction safety netting, a now ubiquitous sign of progress in the city, which has been under heavy development since the 1980s. ten sections of the hazard-indicating material — amounting to 800 linear feet total — are stretched between the concrete pillars of the bridge’s understructure. ‘city fabric’ celebrates the temporary permanence of the material, and re-contextualizes it as something beautiful, impoverished by its utilitarian use. the work explores the conditions of rapidly developing cities, as well as the vestigial spaces produced by architectural production. 

sinuous lines are created by a single twist of each piece of fabric from vertical to horizontal 

ten pieces of the netting are stretched tight between heavy concrete piers across an 80′ gap

the installation’s appearance changes in transparency and luminescence depending on time of day and perspective

‘city fabric’ viewed from below 

reflected ceiling plan 
image by cameron koroluk 

axonometric
image by cameron koroluk

section
image by cameron koroluk

view from afar 

‘city fabric’ creators rebecca bayer and matthew soules

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: nick brink | designboom