Performa @ FAV

Last month Mike McKay and I were invited to Montpellier, France to participate in the Festival of Architectures Vives, an international design competition founded by (the very adorable) Elodie Nourrigat and Jacques Brion of N+B Architects.  For four days, the following project animated this beautiful courtyard--until it was finally shipped off (did I mention the entire piece packs into 4 small boxes?) to the Nous Gallery in London where it currently resides.

The installation was designed as part of Performa, a seminar Mike teaches at the University of Kentucky College of Design.  Referred to by visitors as "the American dragon," the smoke monster from Lost, and my personal favorite, a flock of bats, Performa is a more than anything a system:  simple units that aggregate to allow for flexibility and variation.  For more information on other projects completed by Performa, check out Mike McKay's amazing website:  www.mikemckay.org.

The Festival of Lively Architecture invites ten young designers to create work within the courtyards of Montpellier's many mansions. The festival aims to combine the work of this new generation with the forgotten eras and places of Montpellier, to create unexpected urban territories.

Performa is multi-performative material system utilizing optimization, aggregation and efficiency.  The system is comprised of identical foldable units that create a high degree of unit and system pliability which allows for adaptation to changing conditions.  These conditions range from highly spatial once deployed to laying completely flat for easy transport.

Additionally, the work explores the sensory affect of its field condition:  variable aperatures of opacity and openness, light and shadow, and their impact on adjacent surfaces.  The work is the result of rigorous digital and physical techniques that tested potential performative characteristics, limits, and strategies of fabrication.