There it is in front of Harbour City, baking in the midday sun: a white, monochrome play pit with a hundred oversized beach balls.
Aptly titled BOUNCE, the installation is the latest by Snarkitecture, the Brooklyn-based studio known for their all-white, oversized creations.
The past decade has seen the multidisciplinary design firm mount a roof of inflatable sausages, create pillows made of cement, fill Washington DC’s National Building Museum with thousands of plastic balls, and suspend hundreds of pairs of painted white sneakers in a store – among others, in a distinctive range of projects that blur the lines between architecture and art.
Snarkitecture, named after the creature in the Lewis Carroll poem ‘The Hunting of the Snark‘, was co-founded in 2008 by architect Alex Mustonen and artist Daniel Arsham, then joined by architect Benjamin Porto in 2014.
In the words of critic Maria Cristina Didero, who penned the intro to the studio’s first monograph, Snarkitecture’s work traces the spectrum of ‘not-art’ and ‘not-architecture’, inviting viewers with every project to engage with the material world. We talk about this – and more – in our conversation with two of the trio during their recent visit to Hong Kong.
Let’s start with BOUNCE. How was the creative process similar to previous projects? What considerations did you have to make for Hong Kong?
Benjamin Porto (BP): There were a lot of parameters in doing a big installation at the entrance of Harbour City – about 165,000 people come through everyday – so it had to be very open. But what we also like to do in our work is create a moment of pause and interaction and reflection, so it had to be interactive, but not clog up traffic.
Another thing that comes up in our work often is the use of spheres. In a quick way it signifies play; it’s something you’d identify with being an interactive, playful object, but also an interesting architectural object, so in filling a space it creates a landscape or a gallery.
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Congratulations on your 10th anniversary. Snarkitecture’s aesthetic is very distinct – what inspires this look and how has it evolved in the past decade?
Alex Mustonen (AM): From the beginning there’s this idea of making architecture from the unexpected, taking things that we know in the world and finding ways to reimagine and transform them into something new and memorable. To that end, one approach we’ve used fairly consistently is the idea of reduction or simplicity – taking concepts, objects, and environments, et cetera, and distilling them to their core essence.
Sometimes that has to do with colour, so everything is muted and monochromatic. Sometimes that’s texture, it’s objects, it’s making things from one material. These are ways in which we create consistency through spaces that encourage reflection and play.
As adults we have to dedicate time for these things, they’re not part of our day-to-day life generally. But when we’re creating these environments, we’re inviting everybody – adults, children – to experience them.
From the beginning there’s this idea of making architecture from the unexpected, taking things that we know and finding ways to transform them into something new and memorable
What about the design industry excites you these days?
AM: We’re excited about what we’re working on. I don’t spend a lot of time actually looking at contemporary design, other than following what friends and colleagues are doing and supporting them. I think I’m trying to personally remove myself from being overly influenced by externals around us. But anytime we see design that’s encouraging public interaction – those things are encouraging. It’s certainly along the lines of what we’re trying to do as architecture, and about making architecture and environments that are accessible and engaging and open to a wide and diverse audience.
BP: Any kind of work that’s about connecting people is good. I think it’s really important that people connect with design – that it’s kept out of just the world of design itself.
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On the other hand, what worries you about design today?
AM: I think architecture, design and art will always have a place in culture. But I guess I find concern in projects or approaches that lose sight of our actual, physical engagement in the real world – projects that are not looking to foster those moments. Approaches that are overly digital, or when designers don’t consider how we interact and physically move through and experience the world around us. Which seems like a really obvious thing, but I think depending on your education and what you’re interested in, it’s maybe less important now.
I think it’s really important that people connect with design – that it’s kept out of just the world of design itself
Photo: Courtesy of Snarkitecture
Photo: Courtesy of Snarkitecture
Photo: Courtesy of Snarkitecture
Photo: Courtesy of Harbour City
What do the next 10 years look like for Snarkitecture?
BP: At Snarkitecture, we really try to focus on three different scales: objects, installations, and architecture – and for all three, we hope they grow. For architecture: bigger, permanent buildings. The more things become temporary, the more we try to focus on how we can make things reusable, even if it’s not going to live somewhere for a long time.
AM: The first Snarkitecture-designed house, the first Snarkitecture-designed hotel, the first Snarkitecture playground – which is kind of crazy that we haven’t designed one. And things that are more significant, like a permanent public park or space. These are some of the ideas we’re interested in, some of which we’re going to find an opportunity to do in the near future.
‘BOUNCE’ at Harbour City is open daily from 11am-10pm until 2 September.
The post Ten years of Snarkitecture: In conversation with Alex Mustonen and Benjamin Porto appeared first on Home Journal.
