LAVA

LABORATORY FOR VISIONARY ARCHITECTURE

GREEN VOID

  • Location:
  • Sydney, Australia; Stuttgart, Germany
  • Client:
  • Customs House
  • Partners:
  • Mak Max; Peter Murphy; TOKO
  • Status:
  • Realised 2008
  • Size:
  • Height 20m; Volume: 3000 m3

ABOUT

A spectacular 20 metre-high installation of green lycra was a digital design, derived from nature, realised in lightweight fabric, using the latest digital fabrication techniques to create more with less.

LAVA designed the Green Void installation specifically for the central atrium of historic Customs House, Sydney. Suspended from a height of almost 20m and spanning five levels, the sculpture was an intense visual contrast to the beautifully restored heritage interior.

The installation comprised 3000 cubic metres of space enclosed within a minimal surface area of 300 square metres and used only 40 kg of lightweight material.

The shape of the installation was not explicitly designed but was the result of the most efficient connection of different boundaries in three-dimensional space, found in nature in cells, crystals and soap bubbles. LAVA determined the connection points within the space and the rest was a mathematical formula with a minimal surface. The concept was achieved with a flexible material that follows the forces of gravity, tension and growth, similar to a spider web or a coral reef.

Multimedia artist Peter Murphy created 3D immersive imagery that was displayed over the new 3D screen technology.

2009 runner up AA|FAB Awards, UK
2010/2011 Dedalo Minosse International Prize – commendation

2009 runner up AA|FAB Awards, UK. 2011 Dedalo Minosse International Prize commendation.

Green
 Void
 was 
part
 of
 a 
multidisciplinary
 program 
featuring
 contemporary
 architecture,
 photography
 and
 multimedia
 exhibitions 
in
 Customs
 House initiated by Jennifer Kwok.

WATCH VIDEO     

ABCTV INTERVIEW    

floorplan-and-section GreenVoid300dpiChris-Bosse07-15 custome house green void GreenVoid300dpiMichael-Anderson10-15 custome house green void Green-Void-13 custome house green void GreenVoid300dpiChris-Bosse11-15 GreenVoid300dpiChris-Bosse15-15 image-1
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Design: Toko / Development: Damien Aistrope