INFO How to get to PAO

As there were difficulties with downloading the maps from our homepage: here are some infos on how to get to PAO. This is the address: PAO architecture summer camp, Gothaer Strasse 20, 99869 Schwabhausen - Germany. For arrivals by TRAIN: Reach Gotha Main Station by trains from Frankfurt (direction Leipzig, Berlin), from Berlin (direction Frankfurt), from Dresden (direction Frankfurt). Call PAO tel +49 171-8810520 for Pick-up service. Arrival by AIRPLANE: Reach Erfurt Airport from Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich (...) Continue by train from Erfurt Main Station to Gotha Main Station (local trains or interstate trains to Frankfurt every 20min). Call PAO tel +49 171-8810520 for pick-up service. Arrival by CAR: Autobahn A4 Frankfurt-Dresden. Exit Gotha/Suhl/Oberhof. Follow direction Suhl/Oberhof to the first village - Schwabhausen. PAO is located on mainstreet "Gothaer Strasse Nr. 20".

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Frame++ on the Slope

As we have to deliver soon some data for our carpenters to start their work (aquiring, measuring & cutting wood), here is a further version of the "Frame on the slope". This time, our platform gets a larger "head" - an extended exhibition space at the front. The open timber frames are to be equipped with facades, boxes, roofs, stairs ... in the further process of design and building. - As with the previous idea, the general access is from the street which runs at the top of the slope. This seems to be a necessary condition for the safe and easy use of the structure.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Frame on the Slope

Here is a siteplan with main buildings marked (Church and Former Kindergarden). The area we are going to work is the site around the former kindergarden, an area with large chestnet trees, sloping down from the access road some 2, 3 metres. The former kindergarden building is right now under reconstruction, to be transformed into an elderly people´s house. According to village officials, on the same site a childrens playground is planned to be build. Its place will be in the ravine at the lower part of the site. This, however, restricts the available spaces for the Micro Museum. Whatsmore, village officials demand accessibility without entering the area itself, which will be semi-private. For easy access, then, only the small stretch along the road at the upper part of the site seems appropriate. The red marker shows the place on the top of the slope.

Below: a constructional scheme for a timber-frame on this specific site. Stepping down the slope, so to say, it follows more or less the idea of a "Tube on the slope" (Beam, Paoworm, Junglegym). So far, it is only a skeleton that is to be furbished with boxes, shelves, exhibition items during the workshop - those features that "Xscape", "Calzone" & Co. have demonstrated so nicely.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Tube on the Slope

Here is a strong alternative concept to the previous "Floating Idea Hive". Instead of a boxy shelf lifted up (containing some 10, 15 exhibition chambers), this idea favours a long-stretched volume (a tube, a pipe, a tunnel) that extends from the existing slope like a dive-board. As a conceptual framework, it includes the ideas like "Beam", "Paoworm, the "Whale & Centiped Variations", and "On Top & Underneath Platform". Its biggest advantage: this concept enables direct access from the street which runs along the upper edge of the site. From here, people may easily enter (without intruding the semi-private grounds physically), have a look at the exhibition and the landscape, then turn around - and be easily back where they came from. - The idea of having an accessible, "beam-like" object protruding from the hill may be developed into extreme shapes (round tubes, triangular volumes. Also possible: the carry out the "Beam" as a skeleton-structure, an open framework to be filled up with single boxes. Or to be clad with exterior walls and wrappings.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Floating Idea Hive

Here comes a constructional scheme / framework inspired by Eric, designed by Micha: A real "Micro Museum" that combines the ideas of "Beam", "Idea Hive", and "Platform". In fact it is a kind of shelf that floats some 1-1,5 m above ground, containing a multitude of tiny exhibition cells, or chambers. Just like a bee-hive. At the same time it reminds Alise´s "Two birds with one stone" (a shelf with openings), but now it is floating horízontally instead of standing up vertically. The technical construction seems simple: Providing openings from below the shelf in which one can put his/her head - and look around some 10, 15 exhibition boxes clustered together and lifted up.

IDEA SELECTION Five Core Ideas

We have grouped the design entries - and found that all ideas can be roughly grouped into 5 general types, each representing one strong idea. These ideas we shall keep in mind during the the further design development.

GROUP 1 "CONTAINERS: MAKING USE OF STURDY BOXES"

Includes Projects Nr. (1) "4 Containers", (2) "Matchbox Musem", (5) "Check-Mate-Museum", and (8) "Paorcelona Pavillon", and "Carpatian Window" (not numbered). These projects are commonly thinking about how to use existing containers meaningfully, be them the ones which were re-designed in 2007´s Pao.3 workshop, or new ones.

GROUP 2 "BEAMS & TUBES: WORKING WITH THE SLOPE"

Includes Projects Nr. (2) "Beam", (4) "Two Variations", (4) "Cigar", and (23) "Paoworm". - The common starting point for these projects is the simple idea of having some long-stretched exhibition space extending from the slope, thus connecting the exhibition directly with the street which runs along the site. This fulfills some major conditions of the site, e.g. direct accessibility, approach from a public space.

GROUP 3 "MORPHED PAVILLON: TEXTILE-CONCRETE EXPERIMENTS"

Includes Projects Nr. (6) "Blossom", (7) "Plastic-Concrete Cube", (18) "Butterfly", (19) "Mushroom", and (20) "Gingko". Inspired by the opportunities of using textile concrete, these projects investigate how far the design of free-shaped pavillons can be pushed. Demanding certainly in terms of material and construction technique - possible to produce only within a very limited scope at PAO, unfortunately.

GROUP 4 "MULTIPLE SPACES: EXHIBITION-SHELVES-OBJECTS"

Projects Nr. (9) "5th of 4 Cube", (10) "Two birds with one stone", (16) "Jungle Gym", (17) "Idea Hive", and (21) "Shelves in a Shelf". - These projects commonly start from the idea of providing many small spaces for many exhibition objects. Spaces like: chambers, cells, boxes, show-windows, etc. The strong idea here is to make the museum-shelter itelf into an exhibition object itself. Two concepts of the Top 5 idea selection were in this group: "Two birds with one stone" and "Shelves in a shelf".

GROUP 5 "PLATFORM: EXHIBITION LANDSCAPES"

Projects Nr. (12) "Xscape", (13) "On top and underneath", (14) "Xscape extended", (15) "Calzone", (22) "Erics Rocks" and "Seed from Tokyo" (not numbered). - These concepts commonly start from the idea of having not a building but rather an open platform as an "exhibition landscape" to walk on and experience. The two top running concepts "Xscape extended" and "Calzone" were in this group.

HOW TO PROCEED FURTHER? From now, we have to conceive a "framework" (both conceptually and physically) which is to include these core-ideas. Whereas the further development of this framework into a genuine "Museum" is the task of the workshop sessions, the construction of a real physical framework is necessary until the beginning of the workshop (foundation-making, wood-cutting and other construction tasks have to be carried out before the Pao begins). So - make an idea for an appropriate framework that fits to our "core-ideas" - and send it to the blog!

IDEA SELECTION The Winner is...

Now it is time to disclose the result of our idea rating! The winner is ... "Xscape extended", followed by "Calzone", "Two Birds with one Stone", "Idea Hive" and "Shelves in a Shelf". For the complete ranking, see the attached file. Thanks again to everybody who contributed an idea, thanks to everybody who took the time for voting!
Of course, this ranking does not necessarily imply, that the top-rated ideas are the best for the upcoming construction. There are a few more steps to be taken in order to get the "right scheme". How to proceed further?

(1) From now, the top ideas are to be checked against "reality conditions", such as: construction, costs, feasability, time needed, usability, place etc. Certainly, there will be some ideas that are not very realistic, not possible to be build within the scope of the PAO workshop, perhaps to expensive and laborious. This should reduce the number of ideas to be build in a first step.

(2) A second step is the "filtering" of similar or related ideas, and reduce them to one "Group feature". We have to find out the strong main ideas within the many diverse. For instance, some of the presented concepts are just variations or explications of another idea (see "Xscape", "Xscape Extended", "Calzone") - so they may represent one idea, or one group ("Platform Exhibition Landscape").

(3) Instead of looking for an idea-hit among the top-ranking candidates to smash all other concepts - we should rather try to identify the one design which is able to include and contain most of the other top-rated ideas. For instance, some of the ideas may be combined, containing each other (e.g. "Two birds with one stone" and "Bee Hive").

During the next 3, 4 days this cross-check will be carried out. The results will be posted here for free discussion. Dont hesitate to contribute any comment or hint re: the selection and the further advance of the project.

INFO The PAO polls are on!

Thanks a lot to everybody who has already sent back the rating sheet for our design poll! The contest is getting exciting - a bit like presidential election: Every few hours the situation changes, comes another project to the lead. Right now, the following concepts are the top-runners: "Beam", "Two birds with one stone", "Xscape (Extended)", and the "Idea Hive". However, the voting shall go on until the weekend. Then the result shall be fixed. Lucky choice!

IDEA Michael´s Carpatian Window

I would suggest to integrate the containers in the overall concept. The boxes are simply nice for playing with, easy to transport (as we know). You can erect them anywhere. They do not necessarily have to be integrated within a museum-order, isnt it? We may combine them with any other micro- or macro thing, whatsoever. One box has at least 3,5m² exhibition area, when being put upright. Thats a lot! You can put your complete living room in there, or even sleep inside. The box may stand upright, lay horizontally, have several layers. We can play with the interior perspective, divide the volume etc. A lot of combinations! Beyond their function as mere exhibition objects (in the village), they may obtain a second function as exhibition spaces (simple). The container´s interior does not have to be accessible. One can well look inside, through a shop-window, or similar inventions. The view goes inside. For that (ad hoc), we do not have to do big restoration works. A simple refurbishment with boards, tar-paper, and colour paint should save it sufficiently from wind and rain (People over here in Romania do it that way). I am talking for my own purpose: I would like to take the chance and prepare a space-installation. The theme comes from literature. I need a closed box for that and a small peep-hole inside. Of course, its a temporary installation... I would bring an old shop-window from the Carpatians, and everything else necessary. I am a container.

INFO Tentative PAO Schedule

Here comes a first tentative schedule for the upcoming PAO workshop. As always, there will certainly be changes up to the last minutes. Anyway, this is for the rough planning. Any comments and proposals are welcome for further refinement.

REFERENCE Rio-rio

Rio-rio is a current art project in Dresden (> http://www.rio-rio.de/), creating two huts as hats on top of an existing building. Is posted here as a deterrent example: Construction was planned for may, june ..now it is end of july and it seems certainly finished... Thus a construction composed of structure, exterior cladding, and interior cladding should be avoided.

IDEA Naoko´s Seed from Tokyo

Watching and reading PAO 3, a thick booklet, this tiny idea arose. Hope we could have lots of wood for PAO 5, too.

IDEA Sven´s PAOworm

I really do appreciate all ideas that have come so far, but, I beg your very pardon, it's architecture. PAO, for me, is making something seem what it's not and being something what it seemingly never could be. pao is the very ancient art of throwing a billion stones but never ever coming near the bird's bull eye. so let me suggest the following idea: 1) express the idea of pao 2) exhibit the history of pao ideas: by using 3) the slop of the hill and by 4) attracting people that wouldn't care about pao but then can't avoid caring about. let's build something like a box of illusion (with the help of the slop of the hill): it seems as though the floor is going uphill, but it's not, it's going downhill. one could "illustrate" this for instance with a ball made of concrete that's seemingly rolling uphill when pushed. the question for the PAO designer is: how would you make the illusion real? that could express the art and idea of pao and hopefully attract people. the box itself could be made of lath wood and wrapped with a slot of textile the allows for enough daylight coming in but keeps out cues that would destroy the illusion. (see drawing)

SELECTION Chose the idea to be built!

Here come the 22 Design ideas collected throughout the last month. Thanks a million to everybody who has contributed one of these nice small sketches, models, or texts! This is a superb collection of creative ideas!

Now it is time for the next step! We have to choose the one idea which is going to be designed in detail and finally built.

For this, please judge the 22 design ideas – and give them a RATING. Attached to the email will be a Word-Document where the rating can be typed in. Please follow a simple rule: For the design ideas, please fill in >22< (Maximum) for the most promising idea, and >1< (Minimum) for the least interesting one. For your Top 5 ideas, please explain shortly WHY you made this rating. A short sentence, 3, 4 words shall be enough (type into the right column). Please send back your rating to paoproject@gmail.com until Aug. 5th. In about a week, the results will be published on our PAO Design Blog at http://www.prepaodesign.blogspot.com./From then then we will have to discuss new aspects (construction, costs, technical equipment, time needed etc.)

Have fun & a lucky hand for your judgement!

IDEA Eric´s Rock

Eric remarked: "Why not taking those massive concrete blocks widely used in the last Pao workshops, and making them into an abstract landscape design?" - The sketch shows the blocks placed on the slope of the site, some of them half-dug in. An impressive piece of exterior design, but technically and functionally (from a viewpoint of a "museum") not simple.

IDEA Shelves in a Shelf

This idea refers to Alise "Two Birds with One Stone" - making an exhibition object AND exhibition space at the same time. Here, the object is not a set of walls to walk inbetween, but rather a sponge-cube with a number >> infinite of exhibition cells, chambers, showboxes and windows.

IDEA Gingko

In order to push the morphing tricks to an extreme, here comes another variation on the one-foot-pavillion theme. The structure was inspired by a Gingko leaf. While it is balancing on one central leg (and certainly would shake a lot with only that), it is stabilised by tension wires fixed on the edges of the roof. Despite the image looking very light, easy, and much "ecological", it is certainly must be still 79% fiction. Yet, this On-Edge-Design would be a genuine attraction for the village, not much of a museum though... Rendering: Dipl. Ing. Joern Besser.

IDEA Mushroom Pavillon

This idea is a bit more spectacular then the previous one ("Butterfly Box"). The whole structure is being lifted up by one irregular shaped central trunk, a morphological escapade (again, preferably in textile concrete), making the pavillion look like a mushroom somehow. The exterior walls are glass plexiglass panels and acrylic curtains. The whole concept refers to Joern´s scheme called the "Blossom" which was posted a while ago. Whereas the object may be more fascinating then the others mentioned, it surely creates some difficulties regarding the exhibition of artworks etc. Rendering: Dipl.-Ing. Joern Besser.

IDEA Butterfly Box

This is a structure that doesnt make much fuzz: a butterfly shaped roof (preferably a textile concrete shell), a platform of some 6 x 6 metres, and some panel walls for displaying photographs, artworks, and the like. Except the roof everything is easy to handle and to build. For the making of the roof, some smart idea is needed yet... Rendering: Dipl. Ing. Joern Besser.

IDEA Reinhard´s idea-hive

The IDEA for the museum is, as always, already existing in first images at the place. Under the trees honeycombs & bee-hives turn into idea-hives. Small physical objects / shelves in which only one person can enter - and be overwhelmed by the plenty of ideas. In their heads, ideas swirl around like bees. The space is there already, always. But it must be made visible. Here, the three thematic groups of PAO1-3 find their expression, their place of rest. Important is the possibility for a person to enter - horizontally, vertically, etc. - The proximity to the churchyard: smallest human & final physical space, the simple coffin, at the beginning a cradle, in the body, being in space. All objects are being separated and hold together by a transparent, light fence, screen, paravent etc. Like this.

IDEA Junglegym

Kitty's favourite place is on the shelf between the precious souvenirs of holidays and the inherited porcelain of grand-grand granny. So here is a proposal for an walkable shelf: just several floors in a rack. They adapt the slope or float freely. The structure can be filled with replaceable exhibits, materials or whatever pao has accumulated. But filling is not mandatory, it works as well as an open structure.

IDEA Calzone

Eric remarked, that he liked Joern´s idea "Xscape" - but it would definitely need some kind of roof to it. Here come a sequence of images showing how the Xscape may get it´s roof: by simply folding the platform. Just like a Pizza Calzone it is an "Allover wrap" that contains all the good things inside: steps to sit on, showboxes, a small stage, or a water pond perhaps...

IDEA Xscape extended

Here is a set of sketches for another variation on Joern´s idea of an exhibition landscape ("Xscape"). The platform got a bit more volume, a level-step to sit on, and a variety of showboxes, large and small. We may think about whether placing this "stepped" and "morphed" landscape on the hill-slope too. Another addition might be to include one or another of the existing trees into the platform.

IDEA On Top and Underneath Platform

These sketches Micha has made during a boring "Fakultaetsratsitzung". The images show an alternative to the "platform" idea, especially how to extend the platform from the hill-slope. Thus a deck to walk on and an exhibition space underneath can be created. One small images on the upper center takes reference to Alise´s idea of a walk-in object in the shape of a shelf-box.

IDEA Joern´s X-scape

I thought the wooden platform of yesterday´s blog to be quite atmospheric, so I developed the "e(X)hibition-land(scape)" from it (rather say: quickly put down some sketches). As I like the embedding of a wooden surface into a garden ground quite a lot, I conceived the PAO.micromuseum as an outdoor-museum-landscape - one that is always open and for walking on top - rather than a closed building. For that purpose, showboxes were morphed from the wooden platform on different heights, in order to exhibit larger exhibition pieces / drawings. Furthermore, there are "peepholes" for smaller objects (for instance those semi-rotten apples cast in concrete by Haruka at PAO.2). The remaining wooden platform is free for completelyl un-museal uses, following the motto: "sit.play.chill"...

IDEA Sejima´s Micro 21st Century Museum

A suggestion from Hiroko (Tokyo): Kazuyo Sejima´s "Museum for the 21st Century" is in fact a number of small museum spaces in one large box, a collection of many "Micro Museums" within one big circle. These small museum boxes show up - as usual with all SANAA designs - in maximum abstraction and artificiality, almost unreal.

IDEA Alise´s Two Birds with One Stone

The idea of using the existing slope seemed rather tempting - since that would make the object accessible or at least visible from the street. Regarding "Mode"/"Functionality" of the potential museum, here comes a chain of thoughts on the theme of "Killing two birds with one stone": 1) Using 2 simple elements - a 3D "shelf" and a 2D "surface" (both for exhibiting purposes). 2) Combinations of the elements creating different spaces (inside, outside) and functionality (shelf, wall, path, seat, doorway, etc). 3) "Killing the two bird with one stone" - exhibiting the PAO-objects (the functionality of the elements) and exhibiting the museum itself (through the combination/form of the elements). Added a summary of first quick sketches, but idea can/must be developed further.

IDEA Micha´s Cigar

The smokers choice: Considering the site the slope is the best place. This is a refined version of the "beam" cantilevering 12.5 metres. The whole tube works as a frame-work (see section). Hence the 10 metres span between the abutments are possible. There are two version: either the entrance is on a side wall or on front.

REFERENCE Wooden Platform

This project by Dresden´s architecture taskforce "plan B" shows a simple way for creating a wooden deck. Such an idea for a wooden platform came up in the one or another proposal previously shown in this blog (e.g. Eric´s "Paorcelona Pavillion", or the "Four Containers Museum"). - This garden design for Dresden´s Sonnenstrahl Clinic was easy to build and reasonable in terms of costs and materials too (~1.000€). Basically it consisted of a gravel-bed foundation, solid timber bars as major lead-bearing structure, and a surface-cladding of treated lark panels. It took three people 1 1/2 day to accomplish it. Finally, an image was created of a wooden island floating in the garden - to be used a playground as well as a party floor.

REFERENCE Textile concrete

During the PAO.2 session in 2006, we did several promising experiments: How to bring concrete on free-shaped textile surfaces? Although being heavily experimental, these tests were very promising. By a technique of repeated concrete-coating (or painting), practially every warped or twisted surface could get "consolidated". That way, increasingly solid shells started to "grow". At the beginning the shells had the stiffness of an egg-shell, later on that of a real concrete panel.

IDEA 5th of 4

5th of 4 is a continuation of the cubes of pao2. After 1x1m, 2x2m, .. follows 6x6m (5x5m left out, was pao3 ... too small). A wooden construction creates a cube with two possible walkable levels. The upper level is considered to be a mezzanine. That gives a spacial variety for the presentation of objects of different sizes. It can be reached by a ladder. The inside of the outer walls is proposed to be a big shelf or display for the objects. The exterior between the framework is open and free to be "played" with. The proposal is meant to be schematic and to be seen only as a structure to bear a lot. MiG

IDEA Micha remarks on container usage

Good morning. Hardly pondered on the usage of the containers. Conclusions: - The contis are crooked, warped, inclined - Thus full of "unpleasantnesses" that must be dealed with - Big afford is necessary only to prepare the contis for further use - It is difficult to fix something easily on steel (try to nail or drill) - Substructures for new facades are almost as big as build a new construction (see 1 Matchbox) - Alll points to fix something have to made by a metal workshop in advance - A new stabilising system might be necessary after removing all old rotten wood - Most important: The space is not sufficient. Horizontal: 1.85m wide, 2m high (with new flooring remain only 1.8m) vertical : floor area 1.85x2m, 3.8m high (nice, but nevertheless to less floor area) > A lot of "Rumdoktern ohne aussicht auf heilung"

REFERENCE Lattice Works

From the first PAO workshop on, all kinds of lattice works were tested. Easy to make, those lattices allow for a number of "special effects": (1) As spatial partitions, they virtually become filters, semi-open walls; (2) As furniture, the lattices allow for free arrangement of plates or boards within the multiple row of slits; (3) the lattices function as "guiding lines" ("sliding lines") for moveable sections of a building. With them it becomes possible to open certain parts of an enclosure without using windows or hinged doors. The principle reminds the way that you sometimes lock your fingers, or cross them as if praying.

IDEA Micha´s remark on the "Micro Museum"

A simple question arose: Does not a museum mean exhibition? So: Will the museum be the exhibit? (...a sculpture) or: Will the museum be filled with exhibits? (...a space) ... Will it be just an empty shell or structure? Hence an extra interior for museum purposes is required(pedestals, display cases,..) ..sounds too elaborate concerning conditions (time, material, costs,..) and capabilitiesif it shall be as durable (weatherproof) as demanded or: Will the structure be the furniture itself? Something so-called integrated e.g. a walkable shelf... means killing two birds with one stone.

INFO Pao.3 Book is out!

Finally (two months behind schedule!) the PAO3 Book is out! The black, massive volume published by TUDpress presents on 650 pages all works of the 2007 workshop, plus some 70 essays and lectures. Tightly edited, it not only describes site and atmosphere of Pao3, but also discusses in-depth various concepts on architecture, design, and creative thinking. - The handy book can be purchased at any bookseller (ISBN 978-3-940046-84-0, shop delivery starting next week) or directly ordered from paoproject@gmail.com (19,50 €; the shop-price shall be somewhat higher). The edition is limited to 200 copies.

IDEA Eric´s Paorcelona Pavilion

Eric has delivered a bold yet simple design, a kind of lean version of Mies van der Rohe´s Barcelona Pavilion. Two extensive slabs (floor and roof) are being lifted up by the four free-standing container volumes. Of course, there is much "open plan" and a water-pond in the design included. Eric is not fully satisfied yet, as the scheme looks a bit like a swimming-pool / sauna-environment, mostly due to the massive timber beams, the lattice structures, and the shiny blue pool in the center. The starting idea, however, was to equip the single container boxes with different materials and structures (paper walls, bark cover, textile concrete, or the such).

REFERENCE Bark Facades

During the Pao.3 sessions, the Bark (= skin of trees) was a real discovery. We found out how to use it as facade material. By simply knitting it into a wire-mesh, we produced large "coats for architecture". These we used as wrappings for ordinary industrial containers. The sheets of bark were easily fixed with wire mesh on the container structures. The knitting itself was quite much handiwork, but the result was astonishing: very rough, very natural. An organic fur for a building.

IDEA Fusing Pao Techniques and Materials

At PAO, a lot of unconventional techniques regarding materials and ways of construction had been tested during the last years. Not all of them worked out, but some of them are very promising and highly original. Why not using them for the Micro Museum? Perhaps they do not form one single style, but their overall attitude („Experiment!“) is very much PAO. So, this is a stock of experience that we can rely on, a good resource of knowledge that we can use. Perhaps we have no knowhow about Steel-Glass-Architecture and Urban Design, but we have about pavilion buildings as well as „Bark-Facades“, „Textile Architecture“, or „Lattice Structures“. – In order to show what is possible at PAO, some of these techniques and materials shall be introduced on the Pre-Design Blog during the next days.

IDEA Another "Blossom": Transparent Plastic Concrete

Here comes an alternative of Jörn´s "Blossom" scheme: here the focus is on the special material of the exterior walls. They are made of a new material that is currently being investigated at TU Dresden: a seamless combination of transparent plastic (raisin) and concrete. This new and surprising (but technologically somewhat demanding) material could be used for the exterior of the small exhibition cube. In any case, there would be amazing light scenes inside...

IDEA Jörn´s "Blossom"

Jörn presented this idea: A compact box that can be easily unfolded into an open exhibition stage. Title: "Blossom" - because the structure can easily open and close again just like the petals of a flower blossom. There is a peculiar structural system intended: The whole object is supported by one central column. The material for this column should textile-concrete: it allows free-shaping while it has strong load-bearing capacities. - First experiments with textile concrete were done at the Pao.2 Workshop already (see the review 2006 at http://www.pao-project.org/)

INFO Project Talk with Schwabhausen Mayor

Last weekend, a talk was held with the mayor of Schwabhausen regarding Pao.4 and the "Micro Museum". The mayor informed that three additional projects are underway on the area of the former village kindergarden (which will the site for the "Micro Museum" too). Project 1) Refurbishment of the former kindergarden-building into a SENIOR PEOPLE`S CLUB, project 2) installation of a VILLAGE HISTORICAL MUSEUM, project 3) a CHILDRENS PLAYGROUND (outside). For projects 1) and 2) funds are available; construction works may begin in autumn this year. The outside childrens playground is yet not funded, but the idea was agreed upon by the village council. Rather strengthening than disturbing each other, all projects - including the "Micro Museum" - will form a kind of small scale "Culture Forum" for the village. Here comes up a good opportunity to establish a strong point of interest by attracting different types of visitors: elderly peoply, children, tourists, craftsmen and artists. A genuine "Village Hot Spot".

IDEA Check Mate Micro Museum

The containers are mobile. We have transported them already two times all across the village, and further. Why not keeping them "mobile", even when becoming a museum? Imagine a chess play: Here the figures are constantly being moved. The Micro Museum can be a set of "figures" on a kind of chess plate. Then, the Museum can be easily re-arranged, extended, re-designed. New figures (boxes) can enter the game. New forms of exhibition can be tested. Or the museum can go "away" on tour - perhaps to a village festival, to local exhibitions, to culture events... We have to think about how to fix the containers on the different fields of the "chess" plate. Some special kind of foundation, with some special fixtures for the boxes (screws, bolts, or the like).

IDEA Two "Beam" Variations

These are visual "comments" to Micha´s Beam ideas: How to support the floating boxes, how to put the "Legs" under the containers? Two images / idea: 1) The "Centiped" - a criss-cross of legs, and 2) the "Whale" - a staccato of thin poles.

IDEA Matchbox Museum

Idea from Joerg: "Matchbox Museum". Last year we had this one tower called "1 Match Box" ... So why not making this years Micro Museum easy to handle - just like a Matchbox? The four containers can be viewed as Matchboxes: For opening & closing the Museum - just pull. Pull out exhibition shelves, showboxes, pull out a small stage.

IDEA: Micha´s "Beam"

Today, Micha has brought some ideas: Arranging the steelframes of the existing 4 containers (Pao3 Workshop) as a kind of "walk-through tunnel". The tunnel shall be put titled / a bit diagonal, in order to walk through easily and not banging the head ("Ouch!"). Then, the container-walkthrough may be put on columns, or stilts. Then the museum "jumps off" from the sloping site. Depending on how the "tunnel" is shaped, three options are possible: a) "Beam me up" (straight line going up), b) "Hook" (one container goes off horizontally), c) "Ladder of Success" (one container goes off vertically).

IDEA: Using the 4 Containers of Pao.3 Workshop

Here a simple idea based on the four containers that were used in PAO.3 workshop in 2007 (and which are still available): The four containers to be arranged around a small "square" as showboxes. The "square" may perhaps have an additional roof - thus becoming a playground...

THE SITE

Have a look at the site for the Micromuseum: Got an idea for this place already? - Imagine a small German countryside village (approx. 800 inhabitants) with its houses and cottages. In the middle of the village is the church and around the church the graveyard. Both are, more or less, on a kind of hilltop. The church is visible on the photograph´s background (two times though, as the images were badly mounted). About 30, 40m besides the Church and the graveyard is our site: a kind of park with some nice trees scattered around. The site was formerly used as a kindergarden (the house on the left side).

FIRST STEP: Ideas Collection

Lets do some brainstorming first! For the beginning, we need ideas, ideas, ideas! They can be crazy, wild, unrealistic, strange... Whatever! How do you imagine a "small museum for a small village"? Send notes, sketches, photos ... everything! Comment your ideas directly on this blog (click "Comment" below the posts) - or send them by email to us paoproject@gmail.com Ideas Deadline: June 22nd.

OUR DESIGN TASK: Village Micro Museum

The "Design-to-build" task of PAO.4 is small, simple and cute: A small museum for a small village. We may call it "Village Micro Museum". Simple, unpretentious yet practical. This museum is to contain the works of local artists, children, and of the PAO Workshops. The site of the museum is right in the village centre, besides the church.

INTRO

WHY A DESIGN BLOG? As in the last years, the PAO Architecture Summerschool wants to design and build a small piece of architecture in 2008 too. The location will be Central German Village of Schwabhausen again. The main part of the design must be complete before the workshop begins (August-September). Only that way we can organise the necessary materials, support people, tools etc. in time. Therefore we want to design our "to build" project together in this blog. Most important is that all workshop participants have contributed to the design in advance.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE Everybody who wants to join the PAO.4 Summerschool (or has participated in the last years) can join the "PAO Design Blog". All ideas are welcome. They will be discussed and included in one way or another into the construction project. Send us your own sketches, photos, etc. to paoproject@gmail.com - and we will post them immediately on the PAO Design blog. You can also comment freely about other sketches, notes, and concepts posted on the blog.

HOW THE BLOG WORKS Starting by June, every week the design task will be specified a bit more. Until middle of August, we will collect ideas and review them continuously. Step by step, the ideas must get focused - until we reach a design scheme that we can build.