KXK

Exhibition title: KRUG X KUMA = ∞ < infinite>
Venue: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art / 4-7-25 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan
2005.07.09 - 2005.07.31
Installation
4m2

A world-traveling pavilion planned for an event hosted by a champagne maker. In our attempt to stay away as much as possible from the imagery of architecture as something stationary with invariability of shape, an extremely soft membrane material called EVA sheet made of corded resin 2mm in diameter was selected, to be then supported by a shape-memory alloy frame.The latter also has a 2-mm diameter: it is more of an assimilated membrane rather than a frame, intended to neutralize the dichotomy of membrane versus frame to the utmost extent. Since the shape-memory alloy changes its shape along with temperature changes, the entire dome-shape itself is closer to being biological rather than architectural. Ultimately, cooling eliminates the alloy’s rigidity, making it possible to fold the dome to fit into a small container-this is how this pavilion would travel around the world.