New York architecture studio SO-IL has designed Breathe, an installation for British brand MINI at Milan’s Salone del Mobile exploring the future of urban living. Within a compact footprint of five metres wide by ten metres tall, the installation is contained within a transparent, flexible outer skin that filters the air while allowing natural light to enter the interior.
“We thought about the sensual relationship between city inhabitants and asked ourselves how can buildings become more than just a passive mass,” says Oke Hauser, creative lead on MINI LIVING. “How can they become active contributors to better and healthier urban surroundings?” Based on the company’s principle of a “creative use of space” the installation is intended as a vertical micro-neighbourhood that activates an urban void in the heart of Milan.
It’s essentially a prototype for how we might live in the near future, though in contrast to the Jetsons-esque retro-futuristic visions of humankind served by robots in a home interlaced with technology, it instead re-focuses on nature. Its breathable, translucent skin brings in air and light from outdoors; its lush roof garden aims to improve air quality, and incorporates a rainwater collection system, adding to the concept’s sustainability quota; and its structure is made using environmentally-friendly and recyclable materials. The building itself makes a positive contribution to its environment, and encourages its three (hypothetical) residents to do the same.
“A more conscious way of living can be sensed in all aspects of urbanity,” continues Oke, saying that society is overall more selfless and conscious of its context nowadays. “People just care more about their sensual relationship with themselves, with each other and also with their urban surroundings and products – whether it’s the rise of healthy food or finding their inner urban zen. We think that architecture should also contribute to a healthier and more joyful urban experience.”
The skin is a PVC fabric with a special “purifying” coating, Ilias explains. When the sun hits the surface, it decomposes dirt and several polluting agents. It cleans itself while also purifying the air around it. It exists, Ilias says “it just hasn’t been used widely on buildings yet. There are also people studying its application to clothing. The more surface you have, the greater the volume of purified air you get.” The wrap had the added benefit of being “like a cloth that dresses the structure,” making it interchangeable in different locations and conditions, and adaptable for possible iterations of the structure, which can be disassembled and installed in different locations.
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