Inflatable events space debuts at Lille Museum of Modern Art
Alina and Thibaut are on site for the official opening of the Lille Museum of Modern Art and have been hard at work seeking opinion on — and taking photographs of — our inflatable event space in the grounds.
French Culture and Communications Minister, Frédéric Mitterrand, described it as “very beautiful” during an official tour of the reopened museum yesterday — after diverting from his official route to view the inflatable.
Alina spoke to artist Barbara Gaul (a.k.a. ANNAH), from Düsseldorf, Germany, who said: “The enjoyment with this wonderful pavilion is so great that everyone — despite the summer weather outside — wants to be inside it, and all faces are lit up with joy!”
She also spoke to guest Simone Few, who told her: “Not only is it functional but also very sensitive and protective”. Clearly a woman of excellent judgment and, as it turned out, wife of jazz musician Bobby Few.
For more information, see our press release section and our portfolio page about this project.
Event space interior view
Our event space for Lille Museum of Modern Art was inflated today — a process that took just 10 minutes. This is the first view of the interior, taken by Thibaut shortly after inflation and uploaded to our Flickr group for this project:
There is still a lot to do before the official opening tomorrow, including the installation of flooring, lighting and doors. The team are hard at work... but just two days ago it looked like this:
For more information, see our press release section...
Inflatable event space goes on site.
We have designed an inflatable pavilion for the Museum of Modern Art in Lille, France. The pavilion will house events celebrating the re-opening of the Museum, from 21st to 26th September 2010.
On reopening after more than 4 years of refurbishment and extension, the Museum wanted to hold its celebratory events in a striking alternative to the standard marquee. They called on Thibaut's specialist knowledge of fabric and membrane architecture, and Alina's design flair to come up with the idea for the events pavilion.
Located in the sculpture park at the entrance to the Museum, the pavilion will be the focal point for a week-long programme of events, including the formal opening of the Museum by French Culture and Communications Minister, Frédéric Mitterrand, on September 21st.
The inflatable structure and flexible design mean that the pavilion can be simply depressurised and stored after the celebrations, ready to house future events ranging from theatrical performances to video installations.
The organic shape of the pavilion is meant to stand out from the Museum buildings behind, making it a clear focal point for arriving visitors. It will help to welcome and introduce people to the extended Museum and its huge, exciting collection of Modern art.
Inflatable structures are an excellent way to cover a large area for events. They are more efficient and interesting than traditional tent marquees. The lack of rigid poles gives a clear floor area, they are quick to set up, look fantastic during the event, and then fold away into a tiny storage area.
Designed to hold up to 350 people for events and performances, the pavilion is constructed of lightweight fabric by specialist manufacturer Inflate and was shipped to the Museum site in a single container.
When pressurised with electric fans the double skinned fabric rapidly deploys to form a rigid but organically-shaped enclosure, covering a space 40m (130 feet) long by 15m (50 feet) at its widest point.
For more information, see our press release section...
Testing our new inflatable pavilion
We were commissioned last March by the Lille Métropole Museum of Modern Art, in France, to conceive an innovative pavilion to host the ceremonies celebrating the museum’s re-opening after five years of refurbishment and extension works.
Challenging the existing negative paradigm of event tents, we designed a diaphanous inflatable textile structure to create a mesmerising spatial experience for visitors to the Art Museum and a striking backdrop for its high-profile public events.
We have teamed up with Inflate, experienced makers of successful inflatable event structures, to produce the custom-designed pavilion that fitted within the tight budget of the not-for-profit art organisation, while being versatile enough to host the wide spectrum of events envisaged by the museum, from official receptions to dance performances.
We have just received the photos of the first inflation test of the structure at Inflate's workshop and we are quite thrilled! (Images: Inflate)
More on this after the installation of the structure in Lille at the end of September!
Update: for more information about this project, see our press release section and on our portfolio...
