Pavilions designed by architecture students to feature at Burning Man arts festival
by Jason Holland | 08 May 2015
Three architecture students have been selected to build pavilions at this year’s Burning Man festival, having received art grants.
Supported by Ramboll and Format Engineers, the trio’s installations are set to be constructed at the annual arts festival being held at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, US, between 30 August and 7 September. The designs adhere to the event’s 2015 theme, ‘Carnival of Mirrors’.
The students are part of London’s University of Westminster WeWantToLearn.net postgraduate design studio known for its study of parametric systems, which are based on algorithms.
Tobias Power’s ‘The Infinity Tree’ is the result of a study into the “twists and turns of all things helical in the natural world” and is formed of a series of spiralling, helical transitions connected together with the assistance of complex algorithms – reflecting the intricacies of natural design.
The pavilion will be made from latticed timber and offers foot and hand holds, so that visitors can ascend a path to the top.
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‘Reflection’, designed by Lorna Jackson, is intended to provide an intimate setting in which confessions, secrets and tales can be shared either openly, or with strangers via a semi private screen.
Jackson said the geometry of the pavilion not only mirrors itself in its own form, but also incorporates a reflective surface within its interior spaces. The pavilion is a result of rigorous testing of origami in order to create a single ‘spiralhedron’ shape which is then mirrored through along all axis.
Finally, Jon Leung’s ‘Bismuth Bivouac’ is a structure inspired by the geometric growth patterns of bismuth crystals. Its sides are designed to spiral inwards, converging into the centre of the cubic pavilion, where a sheltered sanctuary awaits.
Colourful LED lighting will illuminate the wooden cubic structure at night, mimicking “the mesmerising iridescent colours of bismuth crystals”.
WeWantToLearn.net has constructed three structures for the Burning Man festival in the past two years. However, the studio says the funding from the Black Rock City Honoraria is not sufficient on its own to build the three new pavilions, and so has launched a Kickstarter campaign in a bid to secure the additional funds required.
Jon Leung’s Bismuth Bivouac will be colourfully lit at night
The structure’s form is based on experiments with origami
Lorna Jackson’s Reflection pavilion offers a space for festival-goers to share secrets and stories
Designed by Tobias Power, the structure features many twists and branches
Three architecture students have been selected to build pavilions at this year’s Burning Man festival, having received art grants. Supported by Ramboll and Format Engineers, the trio’s installations are set to be constructed at the annual arts festival being held at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, US, between 30 August and 7 September. The designs adhere to the event’s 2015 theme, ‘Carnival of Mirrors’. The students are part of
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"Culture is the beating heart of this project"
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
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