mono: ukigumo - floating clouds

'ukigumo' - floating clouds by mono
all images courtesy mono


japanese fumiaki nagashima and mami maruoka magashima of mono
architectural firm have created 'ukigumo' - floating clouds, an installation for
the 5th festival of lively architecture in montpellier, france held in june 2010.
the event invites 10 architectural firms to create work set in courtyards of private
houses and hotels around the city, making use of the urban spaces.

the installation consists of many clustered columns, that produce a space with
japanese independent sense, implying a japanese traditional building. floating clouds
'ukigumo' is an important device in old japanese paintings. it continually appears
in japanese old picture rolls and screen paintings, meaning a border and also a connection
between different scenes in one painting.

the art work is constructed with slender fiber-glass pipes as clustered columns standing
on, clear balloons with nonwoven fabric and polyethylene mesh net spreading over
pipes. by passing through several layers of nonwoven fabric and balloons, daylight
changes unevenly and makes the unpredictable gradationof atmosphere between shadow
and light. in clustered pillars, every visitor of the courtyard can enjoy to walk around
freely and to stay there for a while.


fiber glass columns hold up the balloons






fumiaki nagashima and mami maruoka magashima of mono