Studio INTEGRATE
10 Reviews

INVERSCAPE

INVERSCAPE is a draping fabric ceiling installation in the café-gallery ‘Tina we salute you’ in North London. The concept originated from the notion of creating an ‘inverted landscape’. This concept drove the design process. Gravity is the most crucial element in the formation of Inverscape. The ambition of the project was to achieve a highly innovative and novel spatial condition, while minimizing the impact on the existing functionality of the café’/gallery. The overall geometry corresponds to the circulation and arrangement of the furniture and lighting positions within the café. The depth of the volume increases where people sit and gets shallower where more height is required in the main circulation area. Mimicking an ‘inverted landscape’, the installation maximizes the space’s depth and light modulation. The design process comprises a dynamic feedback loop between digital and physical modes of experimentation. These modes of experimentation were necessary in order to understand the dynamics of the fabric properties when in a state of suspension, but also when components were attached and balanced within and from the fabric. Made of dense nylon mesh between two layers of translucent frames, the draping ceiling synthesizes computation design and material behaviour. Each frame is attached to the ceiling by four vertical clear Perspex elements, giving the feeling the frames are floating in space. The top layer forms the boundary frame while the bottom layer is suspended freely. The way the fabric is sewn combined with the weight of the fabric and the Perspex components define the way the fabric hangs. The combination of these elements subsequently generates the form. Patterns laser cut into the fabric and Perspex frames enhance the quality of light modulation and shadow reflections. The materials needed to be floppy but still have a level of rigidity to enable the dynamic formation when hung.