BTP - BARCELONA TEMPORARY PAVILION // HONORABLE MENTION - Adrian Sanchez Rodriguez and Helena Fuertes Pliego - SPAIN

BCN Cloud Pavilion

Human beings, forced to stay with their feet on the ground, have always wanted to touch the sky, resulting in the creation of majestic structures that can lift us hundreds of meters above the ground, buildings that are lost in the clouds. However, not many have tried to bring the sky onto the ground. Our idea is based on the possibility of grabbing and incorporating it into the city, capturing air and building a cloud with it so the atmosphere, distant and intangible, is at our fingertips, while it is a temporal pavilion, just like a cloud is not expected to stay in the same place.

Made with non-breathable canvas balloons filled with helium, the real anchorage of this roof is the open sky, which pulls it up. These balloons are tied together and to the pillars by nylon cords, almost invisible, creating the illusion of a flying cloud among the regular buildings. A dreamy spiral staircase brings you to its surface 15 meters high, having the chance to walk, sit, and contemplate the horizon with the viewpoint of a bird, or even share a kiss on the cloud.

Art exhibitions are displayed underneath the balloons, organized with weightless chain fences and protected from the evening sun with cheap customized panels - e.g. foam board. Due to the nature of these fences, there are no strong, view-blocking heavy walls that oppress the exhibition area, but thin, see-through membranes that allow light, air, and the visitor’s eye to move around. Art pieces, hanging from these wired walls, seem to be floating, contributing to the atmosphere of the pavilion where everything seems to belong to the sky, including ourselves.