space saloon LANDING: experimental design in the california desert

space saloon is an ‘educational laboratory on the move.’ through a series of collaborative hands-on projects, the group explores the many potentials of a site. the group’s projects foster engagement and build communities through their series of transdisciplinary workshops. held in the high desert of morongo valley, california, the summer 2018 workshop entitled LANDING is a collaboration between students from SCI-Arc and INDA with a group of international architects, artists, and engineers. the design-build event encouraged the designers to reveal, harness, and amplify the elements of the site through temporary pavilions.

virtual landscape animation by danny wills

as part of the 2018 space saloon workshop, students gained experience in a combination of analog and digital surveying methods, environmental sensing technologies, hands-on building tools, and collaborative virtual design devices. the data collected during LANDING — the first successful expedition for space saloon’s mobile educational camp — is currently being processed to develop digital landscapes to be shared ultimately with a larger public. through the development of new design tools and techniques, space saloon will continue to apply the knowledge gained to future expeditions and design camps.

project 1: extent

all images by daniel schwartz

‘extent is an installation that explores the spatial and visual limits of its environment. this hyper-programmed structure sits in the subtle landscape of morongo valley, california, gently landing among a field of sharp and prickly high-desert cacti. suspended between two parallel walls, each measuring 60 feet long and 12 feet tall, are a series of platforms enabling activities of rest, viewing, and play.‘

‘extent performs as an instrument that is in constant dialogue with its context, reciprocally imprinting on and projecting to the site. the gridded bays capture, orient, and frame space in and around the surrounding canyon in an attempt to provide an exploratory base for future expeditions.’

team leader: kyle may with julia van den hout, willis bigelow, robert prochaska, sean gaffney, christina nguyen, max harden

students: asya nur celik, amanda dellevigne, priscila villalpando, max maria, wendy cox, luiza de souza, pollakrit naimee, sasipa punkasem, thanapond namnanthasith, yuka sato, ramita yibmontasiri, thanjira vimonanupong, ranchana rungwatanawong, natdanai wareerinsiri, kongphob amornpatarasin, chutimon suetragulwong

project 2: oscilloscape

‘the oscilloscape is both a tool for observing and reacting to the world around us. part observation deck, part resting space, part entertainment stage, this mobile structure acts as a place for measuring, describing, analyzing, and creating various wave activities. the front of the structure—used throughout the day as a meeting space, stage, and bar—produces messages and sounds to be projected and amplified through the conic volume in the rear.’

‘oscilloscape is a modern take on the mobile wagons of the wild west. its ability to reconfigure its use and location makes it an ideal station for analyzing new environments and reacting to constant changes in the landscape.’

team leader: hello wood (péter pozsár, fruzsi karig) with kylie white

students: jacqueline huang, tamara birghoffer, chinnapat asavabenya, sakaokaew jindawitchu, santhila chanoknamchai, thatsama leeumnadwong, pakjira itthisang, panchaya sonkom, praewa keereewan, chularach engchanil, tanaboon kittisrikangwan

installation 2: ghost house

‘ghost house is an experiment in material manipulation. its form, created by suspending two glue-soaked canvas sheets over a matching pair of cubic structures, is directly dependent on the environment. the project site was chosen by studying wind patterns at various hyper-specific locations within southern california’s high-desert. over the course of a few hours, after its initial installation, the canvas froze into position, capturing a three dimensional snapshot of a specific moment in time.‘

‘its outline and punctured apertures create the formal memory of a house. however, once inside, all references fade away as the landscape beyond is quietly framed through the crisp portals. it is an improbable structure; the representation of the past existing in the present–neither here nor there; the ghost of a house.‘