Browsing: Storefront Gallery

On September 29, Storefront for Art and Architecture will inaugurate a new exhibition showcasing research conducted over the past 3 years at ETH Zurich by Swiss architects Gramazio & Kohler into full-scale digital fabrication in architecture using industrial robots. At the same time, construction work will begin on Pike Loop, the first architectural project to be built on site by an industrial robot in the US.

Located on Pike Street, the robot, R-O-B, will work for up to four weeks—in full view of the public— to construct a brick wall, a highly sculptural response to the specific identity of the site. The same robot unit recently built the award-winning installation, Structural Oscillations, at the 2008 architectural biennial in Venice. For the Pike Loop installation, more than seven thousand bricks aggregate to form an infinite loop that weaves along the pedestrian island. In changing rhythms the loop lifts off the ground and intersects itself at its peaks. The installation was coordinated through the New York City Department of Transportation’s Urban Art Program.

More images and a video after the break. read more »

Our friend Rob Ley sent us info on their latest installation, Reef, which we’ll be checking out next week. Reef, an installation by Los Angeles Designers Rob Ley (Urbana) and Joshua G. Stein (Radical Craft) is currently on view at Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York City. This kinetic sculptural installation takes advantage of new Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) technology to create a responsive environment.

For more information, go to Reef official website.

For those of you that already following @archdaily on Twitter, this is no news: During April, at Postopolis! LA, we interviewed Joseph Grima, current director of the Storefront for Art and Architecture.

The Storefront Gallery is a nonprofit exhibition and events space in New York City committed to the advancement of innovative positions in architecture, art and design. The SFG has organized interesting architecture related events lately, such as the White House Redux Competition (2008), Postopolis! (2007), Postopolis! LA (2009), Spacebuster (2009), among others. The SFG also published the book “49 Cities” by Work AC (review will be posted shortly on AD, great book!).

Back to Joseph, he is a graduate from the Architectural Association and former editor and advisor for Domus Magazine. Currently, he is a PhD candidate at Goldsmith College, London. He recently published the book “Instant Asia: Fast Forward through the Architecture of a Changing Continent” with Skira, a guide to emerging asian architects in collaboration with photographer Gaia Cambiaggi. You can see other publications in which Joseph participated at Amazon.

I think this is one of the interviews with the best background: downtown LA from the rooftop of The Standard Hotel.

© Alan Tansey

Berlin based architects Raumlabor have been doing an interesting architectural work by temporarily transforming locations: a gallery into a laboratory, a public square into a location for scientific discourse or a cold corridor into a place with new social qualities.

When spaces are meant not only to be neutral shells for content but also to convey particular functions and serve as catalysts, the way of dealing with these spaces, their design and programming have to be integral components of the overall conception.

As we told you on a previous post, thanks to the StoreFront Gallery their latest project Spacebuster is moving around New York, hosting 10 consecutive community events (check schedule here).

© Alan Tansey

The pavilion is comprised of an inflatable bubble-like dome that emerges from its self-contained compressor housing. The dome expands and organically adjusts to its surroundings, be it in a field, a wooded park, or below a highway overpass. The material is a sturdy, specially-designed translucent plastic, allowing the varying events taking place inside of the shelter – dance parties, lecture series, or dinner buffets – to be entirely visible from the outside and likewise the exterior environments become the events’ backdrops.

The end result is amazing, as you can see on these photos taken by Alan Tansey. The interior looks fantastic: how the light passes through, the projections on the inside… see more photos after the break.

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