Guest Contribution by Pascal Panagiotidis

Heaven is the title of an ephemeral space designed by Juli Capella Samper at the latest Casa Decor in Barcelona. The concept invites the visitor to travel along a tunnel revealing the endless possibilities of a material developed by Resyrok company. This is a journey through an organic space where the lighting keeps changing color and shade transforming the material into something alive.

info by Capella Garcia Arquitectura
“HEAVEN”
An ecological, sensual, organic intervention
Barcelona 2008
Space designed by Juli Capella in CasaDecor ’08 for the Resyrok company.
CasaDecor ’08 Module 3
Design: Capella Garcia Arquitectura

Juli Capella Samper, architect and designer
Lorelay Gazo, collaborating architect
For: Resyrok
Surface area: 92 m2
Address: Port Forum, Barcelona
Dates: From 23 October to 23 November 2008

HEAVEN – Concept
“Heaven” is the title of an ephemeral space whose purpose is to show off the virtues of a constructional system using a plastic material, developed by the Resyrok company, at the latest Casa Decor fair in Barcelona, Spain, whose theme was “Pathway to a sustainable environment”. Casa Decor is an annual event, which since 1992 has shown the leading edge of interior design and decoration from the most prestigious architects and designers in many cities around the world (such as Madrid, Barcelona, Oporto, Lisbon, Milan, Turin, London, São Paulo and Miami).

The stand in question was made of a single plastic material, a vinyl taken to the limit of its strength. It consists of a structure over which the previously-shaped pieces of material are fitted, after having been warmed to dilate them. When the vinyl cools, it tenses and adopts remarkable organic forms. With a translucent finish it can be backlit to bathe the surface in colour; with a varnished finish it has the effect of a mirror over the space; and when microperforated it offers numerous possibilities for stage effects and trompe l’oeil visuals.

“Heaven” invites the visitor to travel along a tunnel revealing the material’s varied possibilities. There are two openings in the facade: one of them, which comes forward to receive you, is the entrance, and the other, which seems to retreat from you, is the exit. The interior lighting keeps changing colour and shade, making the plastic membrane into something living. As you enter you go through a large dome where an oscillating lamp hangs like a tonsil. In one place, the glossy-finish plastic material looks like a painted wall and reflects the light; in another, the same material, but this time with a translucent finish and illuminated from behind, turns the walls into a great lamp that keeps taking on different colours, through a system of electronically-programmed LEDs [RGB]. When you reach the end, the black walls make the space disappear, and in the darkness the moving image of a fire emerges and vanishes behind the microperforated surface of the material, deceiving the eye and producing a hyper-realistic effect. Opposite the image, in the central zone, one whole wall is filled with a projected video of the sea-bed in constant motion, giving the sensation of being submerged under water. Continuing towards the exit you come to an oval window where the material becomes semitransparent, and through it can be seen a curtain of autumn leaves in silhouette, in constant movement thanks to a fan.

It has been like a journey through an organic space, a series of parabolic, warped shapes that would be impossible to make in any other material. When it is taken down, the entire installation will fit into a small, light case. This plastic material avoids the need to build walls and ceilings with plaster and paint, requires practically no maintenance and is very quick to install. Its lightness means that it is easy to transport and it is totally demountable and recyclable. All in all, a good option for ecodesign and sustainability.