Last week Amsterdam studios DUS Architecten and Studio for Unsolicited Architecture built a dome of umbrellas around a lamp post in Rotterdam and held a party under it.
Called the Bucky Bar, the project references the famed geodesic domes of the late American architect Buckminster Fuller.
The bar attracted 300 visitors before the police intervened at 2 am.
The information below is from the architects:
Announcing: The Bucky Bar!
Geodesic dome made from umbrellas leads to spontaneous public street party in Rotterdam (NL)
A spontaneous street party in winter? Last Friday evening Feb. 19th the Bucky Bar — a temporary public building designed by DUS architects – was launched. The dome bar made entirely of umbrellas, seemed to appear suddenly out of nowhere around a lamppost in the centre of Rotterdam. The fully equipped bar, complete with DJ and drinks, was built directly on site. Approximately 300 visitors danced despite the cold under the umbrella roof, until at 2:00am when the police ended the party, as there was no permit.
The Bucky Bar is part of a series of five unsolicited positive proposals for the future of the city of Rotterdam, that DUS architects in collaboration with SUA (Studio for Unsolicited Architecture) launched on Thursday night by modifying official municipal billboards by pasting their own ideas over the top.
The Bucky Bar was first in the series to be realized, made from the most common and yet most unusual of building materials: umbrellas. The title refers to the great American inventor, Buckminster Fuller, who demonstrated how minimal energy geodesic domes could open a way to a more environmentally sustainable future. Could an umbrella dome to lead the way to a more socially sustainable future? The Bucky Bar is a full-scale model of such a future. It shows the power of space for spontaneous gathering, for improvised shelters to host conversations, debates, games or even parties. Quote of the night: “when is the next party?!”.
The Bucky Bar is a project by DUS Architects and the Studio for Unsolicited Architecture, produced to coincide with the opening of the Architecture of Consequence exhibition at the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi).
The Studio for Unsolicited Architecture (SUA) is a new initiative of the Netherlands Architecture Institute that takes a pro-active approach to the production of architecture. The SUA promotes practical architectural solutions for the city which may not have a definable, client, brief or site.
February 23rd, 2010 at 3:27 pm
If only the substance wasn’t alcoholic I’d call it Brilliant in all aspects.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Simple and fun…. and fun!
Like
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:28 pm
it sucked… the idea could have been kind of nice if it didnt need a special designed star umbrella to work.
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Looks like they may have been “inspired” by Kengo Kuma’s umbrella house. I still realy like the idea of the gurella bar party taking over a piece of the public realm for fun and that the lampost ( mundane urban infrastructure ) is critical to its structure. Great work.
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:04 pm
was already made by Kengo Kuma
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:19 pm
A recent graduate of Design at Goldsmiths did the exact same thing, however his idea was that the edges of a single umbrella had magnets around the edges so that if you were in group and you all had the same umbrella then they all linked up and created a temporary large surface of coverage.
peace
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Do you know Kengo Kuma japaness architects? It is perfectly same…
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/2938/umbrella-house-by-kengo-kuma-casa-per-tutti-at-milan-triennale.html
It is was long time ago..
February 24th, 2010 at 1:48 am
the designer giving a new touch LOL
February 24th, 2010 at 4:55 am
Umbrella Love
February 24th, 2010 at 5:41 am
True, Kengo Kuma’s version pushed through the idea better and looks more elegant
February 24th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Cute idea. It’s also a really clever spin on umbrellas as shelter.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:00 am
There was never a supporting column in one of Buckminster Fuller’s domes …
February 24th, 2010 at 11:48 am
…all due respect to Kengo Kuma but I’d hardly call the wooden platforms under his bubble “elegant”.
February 25th, 2010 at 11:27 am
This is cool!Smart use of the structure of umbrella!Curious….what if the umbrella is closed?what will it be like then?
February 26th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Cool deployable structure they designed here! This gives me inspiration for my thesis. Thank you!
February 28th, 2010 at 10:49 am
Its not about design, but about the spontaneous party, and that works very well! Great strategy! Looking forward to the next.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/read.php?CATEGORY_PK=&TOPIC_PK=2938
just copy paste
March 8th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
i could not understand the mental of saying “just copy-paste”. Thank you for your efort! thank you four your little research!
if you’ll construct a dome, you have limited option. The designers of the project have chosen the octagonal one. But your example is hexagonal.
İt’s simple, it’s cute, it’s eye-catchy and it’s constructed with a standart material/element/object. You can also buy some umbrella to build it.
And also; they said “Called the Bucky Bar, the project references the famed geodesic domes of the late American architect Buckminster Fuller.”
May 31st, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Kengo Kuma was the original creator of this kind of project.
in 2008 in milan there was an exhibition about social housing.
http://milano.repubblica.it/multimedia/home/2247222/1/4
we don’t have to spend more words.
anyway : nice