urfun lab: storm water pipes

part of storm water pipes installation by urfun lab surat. all images courtesy of urfun lab surat

indian based architects and designers urfun lab surat sent designboom images of their recent installation in surat, india which involves a construction of storm water pipes.

here what they have to say about their project: ‘we are used to look at cities with a bird’s eye point of view, whereby a lot of small details are overlooked or lost. inverting this approach, urfun lab looked at a very specific situation of a city through a worm’s eye view, trying a small scale gesture that enriches the environment. this might not be affecting the whole city, but as an idea to do so. storm water pipes are a common sight through the city and are eyesores until they get buried. the ideal situation is where the evening’s sun filters through the pipes to cast patterns on the road. for our installation, all we did was cover these industrial pipes with colored cellophane paper, turning them into a vivid public-art installation instead of allowing them to remain as ungainly stacks by the roadside. it is meant to be a symbolic gesture on how to respond to our immediate environment. this spontaneous act was carried out by a handful of urfan-lab volunteers on a lazy sunday morning in the city of surat, where urban art is still an unimaginable phenomenon.’

unsightly storm water pipes stacked on the side of the road

storm water pipes with a burst of color

the urfun lab team with their public art installation

since urfun lab doesn’t have a preset agenda or a written manifesto, it would be futile to try and explain its purpose with words. the only way to elaborate on its name is through the projects that they can come up with as they wish to make all these projects hands-on, anonymous, spontaneous, guerrilla urban works.

applying the colored cellophane to the storm water pipes

urfun lab consists of a body of young professionals ranging from architects, urban designers, graphic designers, landscape architects, to event managers, just to name a few. but when it comes to urfun lab, these classifications, titles or individual names do not hold any importance. the only thing driving all them is their love for the city and desperation to have have fun!

working on the installation

measuring out the sheets of cellophane

urfun lab with the finished installation