raumlaborberlin: international urban interventions

‘open city’ by raumlaborkorea for the anyang public art projectall images © raumlaborberlin

raumlaborkorea, a task force unit of raumlaborberlin, has created the ‘open city’ upon invitation to the third annual anyang public art project. the brief called for the design of a structure in constant evolution, a merger of international and local artists and citizens whose collective research would shape the compilation of micro-buildings to start a dialogue about the issues surrounding the community in light of the rapid urban developments constantly changing its character. the result is a three-dimensional metal frame of platforms that support copies of the archetypal house, each with its own specific construction and character, built to illustrate or serve a unique purpose, and collectively begin to define a working city of a smaller scale. the mini-constructs were designed and built by a team of artists, architects and the community, and are arranged in an almost surreal-looking building of overlapping functions that work in conjunction.

facing an open square used by the community

a sort of hen house clad in varying sizes of wood panels

a deconstructed tea house with spaced angled wood planks create a unique environment

a green house with transparent facades and roof

a wood house with skylights covered in photographs of the community

green house

community members of all ages help build the structures

schematic diagram

default space 01″by raumlaborberlin, hong kong

raumlaborberlin, an experimental architectural practice that executes smaller scale urban projects, has recently presented several interventions at various design and art exhibitions around the world. the ‘fountain house’ created for this years detour/design renegade in hong kong is an inhabitable monument dedicated to opening a space around water. the fountain aspect is raised off the ground representing the increasing scarcity and unequal distribution of water around the world, making it visible but just out of reach. the interior contains an asterisk-shaped bench directing attention to the illuminated bottles of potable water at the center. the timber structure is wrapped in inverse spaced wooden planks around a hexagonal footprint in the middle of a square where there was previously no defined space.

fountain within the context of hong kong’s highrise buildings

faceted pavilion welcomes visitors from all sides

asterisk seating accommodates visitors from all angles and directs attention to the center

illuminated fountain of bottles in the middle

translucent roof holds the fountain and glows with light

view of the translucent ceiling

‘generator – venetian chairs’ at the 2012 venice architecture biennale

‘the generator’ is an experiment that allows – with the minimum set of tools and materials – for the instant construction of structures in a public space. the result was the ‘venetian chair,’ a multi-use stack-able seating component first debuting at the 2012 venice architecture biennale. setting up a modular assembly line with ‘the generator,’ a group of 8 people can produce the chairs in a rapid efficient manner. the constructions can then be used individually or even stacked in a diagonal fashion to create structural mountains that accommodate seating and shelter for a number of situations. almost an abstraction of the venetian ‘passerelle,’ the chairs create a network of structures, platforms and spaces.

the generator work station set up to quickly create each component