A Floating Christmas Pavilion from AaaM Architects

AaaM Architects designed a Christmas pavilion within the courtyard of a modernist heritage building in Hong Kong Central, where colour balloons could float freely within the space.

In the season where Christmas trees are blooming in other commercial venues in the city, a 17 metres x 11 metres semi-translucent wave-like structure was hung 7-metre high above the open courtyard of former Police Married Quarters, now a Creative Hub. The wave-like cloud forms an enclosure underneath where a thousand metres of fishline were weaved to form a translucent barrier around the pavilion. Helium and air infilled balloon of vivid colour were kept freely dancing in the wind within the space while visitors could experience and interact with the gently floating balloons around them.

Made from vinyl mesh commonly used for roller blind, the lush colour of translucent mesh strips were arranged to form a compact mass where their density was meticulously manipulated to create gradual visual changes in response to natural light porosity, projection coverage and the weight of geometrical shape. Lighting projections were installed to give an ever-changing glow on the hanging cloud at night while natural light penetrates through the cloud to the open playground in the daytime. Hundreds of Helium and air infilled balloon were placed in the pavilion with different colour themes during Christmas holidays, and visitors were invited to draw on them and let theirs float into the space. A glowing shell-like translucent wind blower was also installed to keep the air flowing and generate the movement of the floating balloons inside.

“With the idea of combining architectural design and lighting effect together with primary school science, we hope to create a stage of freedom for imagination and interaction. Within this space, the interaction is open and multi-dimensional, and that people could slow down their pace, let go of their routine and immerse into the festive mood of Christmas,” said Shuyan Chan, the co-founder of AaaM Architects.

The pavilion will also accommodate various performances of different themes including a joint performance of piano accordion and Chinese “Huqin” a bowed string instrument.

The Floating Christmas Pavilion will be open until 2 January 2019. — Construction+ Online