Red felt and cedar, mobile, temporary pavilion installation for showcasing art at festivals

Traveling Art House

This light, mobile installation - requiring just a stepladder and a mallet for assembly, and only “1 1/2” persons - was built to showcase art at festivals. The big, fun idea was to display art in a “house,” its post-purchase condition.
Design decisions for a conceptual aesthetic (clean, minimal, and bold) involved:
The structure is designed to resist up to 40mph winds using diagonal bracing, a foundation of sandbags, and by simply allowing the wind to pass through. The upward openness also allows for natural cooling, a huge heat relief compared to the standard event booths. Felt was selected as a “structural” fabric off of which art could be hung, which would not wrinkle.

Art Installation

Santa Clarita Festival of the Arts (Special Invitation), Santa Clarita, CA

Materials

Cedar, steel plates, steel cables & fittings, red felt, jean fabric, paint, fishing wire, sand bags

Dimensions

10′ x 10′ in plan x 12′-3″ tall
This light, mobile installation was built to showcase art at festivals. The big, fun idea was to display art in a “house,” its post-purchase condition.
Assembly sketch of mobile, temporary pavilion installation for showcasing art at festivals
Assembly of mobile, temporary pavilion installation for showcasing art at festivals
Assembly of mobile, temporary pavilion installation for showcasing art at festivals
Assembly of mobile, temporary pavilion installation for showcasing art at festivals
The installation was designed to be assembled by “1 1/2” people (mostly by 1 person), and only using a stepladder.
The installation was designed to be assembled by “1 1/2” people (mostly by 1 person), and just using a stepladder and a mallet.
Wood and steel joint/connection, mobile pavilion for art
Wood and steel joint/connection, mobile pavilion for art
Steel cables and red felt of roof, mobile pavilion for art
Steel cable connection detail through red felt, mobile pavilion for art
Red felt and cedar, mobile, temporary pavilion installation next to typical white vinyl art booths
Other booth owners remarked how much cooler this naturally ventilated “open-attic” space design was than their typical closed top, vinyl clad pavilions.
Design decisions for a conceptual aesthetic (clean, minimal, and bold) involved:
Illustration study for design, showing project between typical art festival booths
Study illustration
Design sketches, mobile pavilion for art
Felt study model with human and Avatar blue Na’vi for scale, mobile pavilion for art
Study model with Na’vi & human for scale
The structure is designed to resist up to 40mph winds using diagonal bracing, a foundation of sandbags, and by simply allowing the wind to pass through. The upward openness also allows for natural cooling, a huge heat relief compared to the standard event booths.
Unrolling the giant felt roll across a public yards
Pinning and cutting the felt with a fabric roll cutter
Sewing the giant felt pieces on my 1980s sewing machine
Adding a zipper for the top beam connection
Felt was selected as a “structural” fabric off of which art could be hung, that which not wrinkle.
Sewing the jean material sandbags
Sandbags were made out of factory-leftover jean fabric
Wood joint connection sketches
Chop-sawing the cedar beams on the floor of a parking lot
Drilling large holes in the cedar for joint connections
Spray painting the steel plates
Sanding the inside of the wood to enlarge the joint space and smooth it out
Cutting the inside corner out with a chisel to allow for the welded joint in the steel
Partly assembled wood joint shows complex steel plate assembly
Connections are hidden and beams are the same size all around to emphasize the conceptual aspect of the design.
View of red felt roof and criss-crossing steel cables, mobile pavilion for art
Assembly study showing cedar beams and criss-crossing steel cables against night sky
All the cedar beams lined up next to each other
Cedar beams projecting from roof of simple sedan, on the way to an art festival
Red felt and cedar, mobile, temporary pavilion installation for showcasing art at festivals

Work/Credits

Design & Photos: Ioana Urma. Engineering Check: Radu Urma. Fabrication: Ioana Urma, with help from Vic Nahabedian (wood shop), Gerardo Bucio (steel welding), and Ramcast (steel cutting). Site install: Ioana Urma & David Jeno.