I have seen the future and it is cardboard


This striking structure is the work of the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. It houses one of the electric powered tugs that worked on the Burgundy Canal until the 1930s, and is part of the Cap Canal museum at Pouilly-en-Auxois in France which we visited recently. By any criteria this is a remarkable work of art, but it becomes quite exceptional when it is explained that this is one of Shigeru Ban's famous paper tube structures.

Shigeru Ban is famous for his innovative work using paper and cardboard tubing as a material for building construction, and he is particularly known for using recycled cardboard paper tubes to quickly and efficiently house disaster victims. His designs are influenced by the pioneering geodesic domes created by Buckminster Fuller, who made a guest appearance in Karlheinz Stockhausen - part of a dream. Free thinking chamber music ensemble Domus used a geodesic dome when they performed outside the comfort zone, while maverick architect Louis Kahn's went one further and created a floating concert hall.


More stunning contemporary canal architecture here.
I took the photos when we were cycle touring on the Burgundy Canal, and they are (c) On An Overgrown Path 2009. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Comments

Pliable said…
Email received:

Your posting reminded me of other impromptu musical venues: private houses hosting musical soirées. It’s a return to actual chamber music experiences.

As for cardboard being the future. Most modern recordings tend to sound as if they were recorded in cardboard: very bland!

David Cavlovic
8:12 pm
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