pPod - a Mobile Theatre for the Horse & Bamboo Theatre, 2005
The task consisted in designing a mobile building that displays the unique way of staging the theatre company has developed, that can be erected by the actors themselves and furthermore is a magical object which is linked back to the early days of travelling circus. The mobile theatre tent called pPod is used for miniature puppet performances with an audience of 35 people and at most 3 actors. Shows take place indoor and outdoor.
The answer: A tent structure with aluminium poles and two separate skins of PVC-coated polyester fabric, based on a series of rectangular frames which are twisted against each other. The result of the twisting is the distortion of the sidewalls into double curved planes without the use of curved members. Stability is achieved by aluminium frames in cross direction and lengthwise by the outer fabric. The interior fabric is an opaque silver-white fabric while the exterior one is a red mesh.
Inside the tubular inner shell which is fixed at 3 circular aluminium tubes, the short shows of 15 minutes length take place. The fabric’s opacity creates a dark interior for the show lighting. Due to high frequency welding the theatre room provides protection against wind and rain
In contrast to the compact inside the red mesh allows light to go through upon the inner hull where it is reflected by the aluminium coating. The outer layer is stretched over an angular aluminium tube framework with steel joints. At night when the space between the two fabrics is enlightened the metal construction is visible.
All individual parts of the pPod are designed to fit into a van. Erection and dismantling are done by 2 trained persons in about 2 hours each. Overall dimensions: L x W x H = 7.5m x 6.0m x 3.6m (interior 6.0m x 4.0m x 3.0m)
Credits
Client: Horse + Bamboo Theatre Company, Manchester, UK contact: George Harris, arts and development tel.: +44 (0)1706 220 241 email: info@horseandbamboo.org internet:www.horseandbamboo.org
Fabric design, production of membranes and framework: LANCO - Dr. Lange GmbH & Co. KG, Hannover, Germany contact: Nicolas Abé, managing director tel: +49 (0)511 9 56 87-0 email:info@lanco.eu internet:www.lanco.eu
Flooring: Thein & Rios GmbH, Berlin, Germany contact: Markus Rios, principal director tel: +49 (0)30 28 27 042 email:theinundrios@t-online.de
