City On A Roof

Looking good Anthony/Joana/Alice... (having just seen the website pdf) we'll post it as soon as possible.
good luck on monday with the balloons and the canopy - i can see your studio now starting to look more like a sailmakers loft ..very ironic considering this thing is going to look like a suburban house ala kiwi style 
it will be interesting to see how you guys deal with axon extentions ....

C you on the roof !

... and the translation for the non-kiwi's amongst you

It is death! It is death!
It is life! It is life!
This is the hairy person
Who caused the sun to shine
One step up! Another step up
The rank! Hold fast!
Into the sun that shines!

C U ALL ON THE ROOF !

Hi Chris,

1 REVISED PROPOSAL: Floating House
I uploaded some more thoughts on our proposal which really is based on what is deliverable giving the lack of funding.
Go to WHAT_news...
Joana (assisted by Alice) will start out-sourcing for 30 x 1m diameter helium balloons upon which our proposal 'hangs' upon.
Anyway something should happen.

2 FLIGHTS
We recognise that this Wednesday 9th May is the start of the construction period finishing Tuesday 15th.
If we execute our design according to the attached proposal then our on-site (Groningen) time would be 1-2 days only.
I say this because we cannot give you an arrival time til Monday night.
Is my presence more valuable on the 31st August or during press day / next week? I can stay only one night but Alice - Joana could stay 3 nights max.

Regards,
Anthony

Hi guys.
I just spoke to Chris Moller who was very upbeat about our collective efforts to do something good for COAR.
Some points to note:

1 COMMUNICATIONS
At least once daily, keep sending both David and Chris information (the COAR core) such as short text statements, imagery showing the design process, sketches...
This fills our physical absence through design information.
Keep imagery manageable <500kb.
Also update WHAT_news with smaller 390x214pixel imagery and statements as per my example.
You don't have to write a thesis statement as COAR is really a 'design festival': so think minifesta coupled to manifesto!
With this in mind Joana please email COAR our current theme toon: Nena's 99 Luft Balloons.
Its in the iTunes folder.

2 TRAVEL
We need to book travel to keep things cheap.
Everyone prefers that we arrive early (time and date).
So we need to plan a departure date and thus have our 1:1 'model' organised.
It will morphose in Groningen so perhaps the fishing line to make the network keeps things cheap, simple, adaptable and thus allows other to be included in the Floating House. Ditto: the sheath. It should be transparent so one can see the balloons.

3 ACCOMMODATION
Will be wharenui style (google it Joana).
Do we need to bring sleeping bags?

4 MATERIAL
Hopefully Alice has more success with the 1200mm chronoprene white balloons she's collecting.
They should give us 27kg of gross lift less sheath (50sqm x 100gm/m2 (alice?) of 5kg = 22kg.
For COAR's information, we obtained 900mm latex white balloons today but they could only manage (30 x 0.3) 9kg gross lift (Alice?).
So we rejected them.
Alice will go out to near Stansted airport to source the bigger type. Fingers crossed.
WHAT_arc will 'sponsor' the rest as Research and Development.
We still need:
_fishing nylon
_sheath (sewn or taped?)
_some Dutch ballast (full beer crates) > 27kg. FYI 30kg = 30litres :-)

Okay. Well done last night and keep up the momentum!
Joana: did you get hold of Annabel re: Thursday meeting on 052vic_art cell?

Hoi avond.
Ah!

--
Anthony Hoete
8-{])

WHAT_architecture
5 Ravenscroft Street
London E2 7SH UK

t: +44-207-7397373
f: +44-7779-024471
e: hoete@whatarchitecture.com
w: www.whatarchitecture.com

updates on the WAT_website: www.whatarchitecture.com

060805 WHAT_city on a roof
A lightweight sheathed pyramidal network of 30 1m diameter balloons forms a 16m2 '15kg floating house'... enough space to accommodate mum, dad and the 2 kids.



060808 FLOATING HOUSE
We have procured our balloons. A (20kg) Lift Off appears imminent! Any weather forecasts Mr Moller? 



  060808 FLOATING FLAT?
WHAT_architecture presents a "Floating House" as part of the City On A Roof expo in Groningen, The Netherlands. The concept model was buttressed by books such as 'False Flat' and The RIBA Product Selector! Hhhmmm... maybe this pyramidal project should be called the "Floating Flat"?



  060808 FLOATING HOUSE
Layered network as pyramid... the inflatable roof would be approximately 4m high at its apex; the house levitating 1.8m above the rooftop. 



060808 FLOATING HOUSE
View of the ceiling from inside the floating house: accomodation for the nuclear family? 



  060808 Floating House
You can see the ankles of the inhabitants... 



  060810_Floating House
Lamorisse's Parisian fable of the boy and The Red Balloon is revisited in Hackney by Maui and the chronoprene balloon... Maui weighs 15kg; the total lift of The Floating House is 22kg: Maui could float over Groningen!