Studioninedots have designed a new pavilion, “The TrueTalker,” to generate a space for open communication and storytelling. The pavilion is one of approximately fifty at Amsterdam's temporary Fab City, an initiative organised by Europe by People to promote self-sustaining, innovative cities. The project also comes as a reaction to Amsterdam hosting the European Union this spring, where rigid and official conversation will be scrutinised and recorded from every angle. In contrast, Studioninedots said that "The TrueTalker" creates a space where “everyone is invited to sit down, relax and share warming, unreasonable, crazy, unimaginable and hilarious ideas.”
Evolving from the concept of Fab Lab, where cutting edge fabrication techniques and machinery are made available in an open source way, the Fab City provides a space where innovators come together and present ideas about shaping the future of their own city. The unifying goal of the Fab City is to become “locally productive and globally connected.”
Europe by People instigated the exhibition, with the vision of creating a “green, self-sustaining city” within which contributors from a broad range of artistic and technological backgrounds “work, create, explore and present their solutions for current urban issues.” Studioninedots' pavilion provides a space for these innovative people to come together and share their thoughts.
As well as creating a communal centerpiece, "The TrueTalker" pavilion also provides a literal beacon within the Fab City. The fire at the center of the cone-shaped structure not only acts to draw people in but reminds them of sitting around a campfire, and encourages everyone to tell stories and engage with their neighbors.
The pavilion’s skin is one continuous wall which curves around on itself, creating a singular opening that visitors are invited to investigate and explore. The skin is assembled in an open brick pattern, allowing passers-by to glimpse inside the pavilion and the light from within to spill outwards. Once inside, ideas on “the future of Europe, the world, mankind or anything else” are exchanged openly around the fire.
Studioninedots emphasise the "need for personal contact and collectivity" not only through their design but their process. Studioninedots and collaborator StoneCycling both operate from the North Amsterdam-based Creative Workspace 1-1-1, which allowed them to combine their fields of expertise into what they refer to as an "attractive and technically challenging design." StoneCycling’s WasteBasedBricks are a semi-opaque, circular brick made almost entirely from a locally sourced waste product. The material adds another element of sustainable future planning to the design.
"The TrueTalker" pavilion at Fab City Amsterdam is open until the 26th of June, and you can view the program of the pavilions program of organised events here.
News Via Studioninedots
