LIKEarchitects forms indoor exhibition space with 20,000 fabric strips

LIKEarchitects forms indoor exhibition space with 20,000 fabric strips
all images © fernando guerra / FG + SG architectural photography

under the skylight at lisbon’s colombo shopping mall, LIKEarchitects have constructed a temporary exhibition space to hold artist jen lewin‘s interactive and luminous installation, ‘the pool’. the porto-based architecture studio has suspended 20,000 strips of white and black fabric from a circular frame, attached to the domed window towering above the commercial center. spanning 14 feet in diameter and 4 feet in height, ‘wonderWALL’ is defined by the numerous fabric strips and their radial arrangement, with tactile, flexible walls penetrable by visitors and oscillating with airflow created by their movement.

the cylindrical space of the exhibition chamber seeks to emphasize the rounded nature of the artwork

the cylindrical space created by the architecture of the exhibition chamber seeks to emphasize the rounded nature of the artwork held within. never actually touching the mall floor itself, ‘wonderWALL’ allows viewers to see — from the outside — a continuous line of colored light emitting from within. the coverage presents itself as a large circular weaving screen that highlights the manual process that characterizes the construction of the domed space, highlighting its unique textile texture. protected from the bright light of the shopping arena, lewin’s ‘pool’ is able to realize its chromatic variations and materiality.

various tones are reflected throughout the interior

20,000 strips of black and white fabric contain the artwork within its expanse

visitors engage with ‘the pool’ inside the fabric exhibition space

stepping, running, jumping or even riding across the pads allows light and color to emit from them

‘wonderWALL’ allows viewers to see — from the outside — a continuous line of colored light emitting from within

the shopping center’s domed roof suspends the temporary exhibition space

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project info:

architecture: LIKEarchitects
design team: diogo aguiar, teresa otto, joão jesus and joão salgueiro, daniel mudrak
location: colombo shopping mall, lisbon, portugal
date: 2014
curatorship: emília tavares
client: sonae sierra
production: state of the art
type: commission