By Beverly Pereira
Photography: Courtesy the architects
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For GUN
Architects, what began as an inclination towards working with natural forces -
particularly water - resulted in the creation of the award-winning Water
Cathedral, a Chile-based project in 2011. The Chilean-German architect duo revisited
this installation in the form of the Rainforest Pavillion for the recently
concluded London Festival of Architecture that celebrates the city’s role as a
global hub of architectural experimentation, thinking, learning and practice.
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The
Rainforest Pavilion in Bedford Square is a 5-metre-high abstract interpretation
of a rainforest environment. Like the Water Cathedral, it incorporates similar elements
such as prism-shaped stalactite formations, trickling water and the open-air
nature of the installation, where inverted-pyramid-like structures hold bunches
of stalactite-shaped fabric beams that form a canopy of sorts. Water
periodically drips from these stalactites on to the rocks, ferns and water
pools that lie below. It offers one a sensory experience, complete with the sounds,
smells and feel of being in a rainforest eco-system and visitors are encouraged
to sit under this pavilion to enjoy a simulated rainforest experience in the
midst of the city.
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The attempt
to develop contextual design forms apt for today’s fast-growing cities and the
geographical conditions that are a result of it, constitute the crux of this
architectural experiment. For one, it is situated in the busy business district
of Bedford Square. Secondly, much like an oasis in the city, this temporary installation
also revives the tradition of the Victorian summer pavilion.
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An exhibition
in the main AA gallery complements this installation, explaining the structural
and conceptual evolution of the Rainforest Pavilion, right down to the idea
behind the Water Cathedral.
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The
Rainforest Pavilion, on exhibit until July 19, 2014 is garnering a variety of
reactions from the masses.
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