The Rope House
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http://www.graticule-architecture.co.uk/ (website) Download Original
Temporary performance space built from a single 5km length of rope
Spun from a single 5km length of rope the structure begins as a fraying cord which leads visitors to its site, a small hillock overlooking a lake at the southern end of the Secret Garden Party site. The rope creeps up the hill, meeting the building and spiraling to clad a tower-like structure. The rope acts as the building's skin and is tensioned to form walls and held taught by a weighted spool hanging from the tip of the roof.
The project was designed and built by Graticule Architecture with help from their second year students at Canterbury School of Architecture, UCA. For the students the projected acted as a live experimentation between digital design processes and traditional craft techniques.
Local rope manufacturre The Chatham Rope Company guided the students through traditional splicing and weaving techniques while the frame was digitally modeled and fabricated off site
Over the course of the festival this pristine structure was partially unraveled as part of the performance and natural inhabitation of the audience. Festival goers were encouraged to move in and tailor the rope surface to meet their needs - seats, handles, climbing frame, shelter.
The product of this amplified weathering and use was recorded by scanning the structure to produce a millimeter perfect 3D snapshot.
Data
- Begun: Jul 2012
- Completed: Jul 2012
- Floor area: 32m2
- Sector: Arts and culture
- Total cost: £6,000
- Funding: Secret Arts
- Tender date: Apr 2012
- Procurement: traditional
- Address: The Secret Garden Party, Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire, PE28 2PH, United Kingdom
Professional Team
- Architect: Graticule Architecture
- Client: Rosie Jackson + Secret Arts
- Build Team: Canterbury School of Architecture, UCA
- Structural engineer: Price & Myers
- Contractor: Graticule Architecture
Suppliers
- Rope Supplier and Specialist Advice: The Chatham Rope Company
- Steel frame: KeeKlamp
- Detail Structural Fabrication: Laser Cut Works
- Supplier: Jubilee Clips