[con] temporary

temporary outdoor gallery space

austin. tx

2010

[con]temporary is a temporal, mobile gallery space designed to be specifically altered for each exhibit that calls it home. Constructed primarily of straw bales, these ‘building blocks’allow the actual footprint of the gallery to vary in order to accommodate each exhibit. Depending on the requirements of each show, bales can either be included or excluded to achieve the necessary space/configuration. The construction of the [con]temporary gallery would begin with the assembly of the steel frame system. Then, based on the particular exhibition housed in the gallery, straw bales would serve as the modular infill blocks within the frame. Bales can be omitted to allow for apertures, or included to provide the necessary screening of the showcased work. Once an exhibition has ended, the bales themselves are disassembled, swept up, and the steel frame system is flat-packed and moved to a new location. Such continual flux defines the gallery space as having an identity of both flexibility and temporality.

The gallery, twenty feet in length, is enclosed by two sides which are broken down into six modules each. An easily assembled and disassembled steel frame system makes up the six bays that house the straw bales. If more space is required within the gallery, the bales forming each of these modules can be displaced a further distance on either side of the gallery. This displacement allows for additional pedestrian viewing space either in the form of added space for standing and viewing, or displaced bales can be stacked to provide seating within the gallery. The added space also serves the flexibility of the display methods within the gallery, adding an additional eight feet of width on either side of the mobile gallery - perfect for sculpture installation. The configuration for each show would ideally be decided upon before the installation of the gallery, but alterations to the form can be made at a moment’s notice, as the removal and displacement of bales are manageable by a single user.