Excerpt: The Shack is an installation designed by The Shack Collective in United Kingdom. Rising 3.5 metres, Between the Earth and Sky is a demountable origami-like structure that consists of a lightweight timber space frame, made with three interconnected arches clad in tesselating angled acrylic mirrors.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Black women-led design collective completes self-build kaleidoscopic pavilion for independent UK music festival The Shack Collective has completed a geometric tesselating mirrored pavilion, ‘Between the Earth and Sky’, for independent UK arts festival, Brainchild.
The Collective is currently running a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of the self-build project, opening a dialogue about the lack of arts funding for community projects, representation of, and compensation for young diverse designers in the architectural and arts professions.
The Shack Collective is a Black women-led group of designers working across arts, architecture and eco design totaling seven members; Seyi Adelekun, Shanice Abbey, Lauren Rechere, Fussilat Ibrahim, Rosie Murphy, Hannah Burrough, and Christopher Bradley. The group formed in March 2021 in response to Brainchild Festival’s open-call competition to design the festival’s DJ stage, which they won in May.
Rising 3.5 metres, Between the Earth and Sky is a demountable origami-like structure that consists of a lightweight timber space frame, made with three interconnected arches clad in tesselating angled acrylic mirrors.
The pavilion is rooted in the intimacy between people and the natural environment. The geometric shapes and reflected iridescent colours draw festival-goers in to gather and enjoy performances, while mirrors camouflage the structure by reflecting the surrounding forest. The Shack Collective was inspired by the inversion of a forest reflected in a body of water, and how these reflections create an infinite, liminal space between earth and sky.
The Collective was supported by Brainchild Festival to purchase materials for the construction of the pavilion, but the rising price of fabrication and building materials as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the launch of a fundraising campaign to cover the significant labour time invested by the designers. Funding will also contribute to the legacy of Between the Earth and Sky, which will be reassembled at future community-led, music and arts events across the UK, including the 2022 Brainchild Festival.
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