Interactive Scenography

By Namita Nathani
Photography: Courtesy Numen/For USe

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Imagine a design minimalist to the level of being absent; yet, attaining ingratiating presence by rejecting to be ordinary. “Net Blow-up” accomplishes this, revealing the pre-existing potential of a material through geometricism. 

Net Blow-up is 1:1 scale public walk-in (or should one say, crawl in) installation that is inflated until its outer surface reaches adequate tension for stretching the nets connected on the inner side. This tightly-knit architectural balloon is designed with thorough knowledge of its architectural properties and no other additional structure is required for the construction.

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Displayed in October 2013, near a waterfront in Yokohama, Japan with a playful exterior façade, which becomes an example of Blobitecture during the day and as the dusk begins the a platonian shadow is created by visitors, captured on the gigantic spider web reflecting the inner rhythm on the outer membrane.

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Designed by Croatian-Austrian firm, Numen/For Use, a design collective working in the fields of scenography, industrial and spatial design and conceptual art, the project is a result of  their continuous research and  experimentation on the prototype of the interior consisting of multiple layers of flexible net affixed to the ceiling creating catenary curves and the next set connected to the peripheral walls, creates within hills and valleys and a sense that area one is moving on is suspended in the air; creating a “Transparent  Landscape” build within the classic inflatable castle, which from outside looks like a captured cloud.

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The installation creates curiosity within the public inviting visitors to explore, liberate and relax and become temporary denizens of the playful trampoline-like pavilion, completely enveloped by the net and bubble and able to bounce and boomerang off the ceiling, floor and walls, creating a field of activity and an oscillation between the notions of art and life.                                                                  

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The internal tension is perhaps characteristic of the field of design and constant advancement towards the movement of unity, underpinned by conceptual substructure or theoretical matrix; in this, the project is a revelatory attempt that is certainly felt.