Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
Extended Cabin
Masoud Bahmani

How can architecture become performative and emerge as one of the main characters of the theatrical stage?

How can architecture become performative and emerge as one of the main characters of the theatrical stage?
Extended Cabin begins with the question of how an architectural work can be presented to a theatrical audience without reducing it to a fixed and static object. The narrative of the performance takes place within the space of a metro cabin. Accordingly, the project proposes that the representation of an architectural section on stage should no longer function merely as a static image of a space in the background of the performance, but instead become a dynamic process and the  central subject of the work. Rather than being conceived as a final section, Extended Cabin is imagined as architecture becoming a section—a form of architecture that is continuously cut, transformed, and set into motion throughout the performance, gradually becoming part of the narrative itself. Rather than representing a section, the architecture performs the act of becoming one throughout the performance.

photo_credit Masoud Bahmani
Masoud Bahmani
photo_credit Masoud Bahmani
Masoud Bahmani
photo_credit Masoud Bahmani
Masoud Bahmani

The body of the cabin is opened by a continuous longitudinal cut that establishes a relationship between the interior space, the performers, and the audience. By removing  its floor, the cabin dissolves the boundary between inside and outside, producing a dynamic spatial condition. The cabin floor extends across the entire stage until the stage itself becomes the floor of the cabin. The cabin is constructed from a steel framework clad in reflective stainless-steel sheets. 

photo_credit Masoud Bahmani
Masoud Bahmani
photo_credit Masoud Bahmani
Masoud Bahmani

Wheels integrated beneath the structure allow it to move freely, making architectural mobility an essential part of the spatial experience. The reflective stainless-steel skin continuously captures and distorts both the stage lighting and the movement of the performers, reinforcing the cabin's constantly changing spatial presence. At the beginning of the performance, the cabin begins to take shape through the force generated by the performers from within. Throughout the performance, they 
push, move, and extend the structure, transforming a fixed architectural object into a dynamic entity. 

photo_credit Masoud Bahmani
Masoud Bahmani
photo_credit Masoud Bahmani
Masoud Bahmani

In this process, architectural space, performance, and the audience's perception are produced simultaneously through a shared spatial experience. The cabin is therefore not a static stage set, but an active spatial entity that continuously transforms throughout the performance. Rather than simply moving through space, it actively reshapes the spatial and narrative conditions of the stage.

photo_credit Masoud Bahmani
Masoud Bahmani
photo_credit 2x2 Architecture Studio
2x2 Architecture Studio
photo_credit 2x2 Architecture Studio
2x2 Architecture Studio
photo_credit 2x2 Architecture Studio
2x2 Architecture Studio

This process of extension transforms the stage from a passive architectural object into an active narrative 
element. Rather than representing the enclosed space of a metro cabin, Extended Cabin constructs a framework for experiencing spatial dualities—movement and stillness, inside and outside, compression and release. The project explores the moment when architecture moves beyond being a container for performance and becomes a performative act in itself.

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Project credits

Contractors

Product spec sheet

Manufacturers
Steel sheet 1.5 mm by HOW production
steel sheet

Project data

Project Year
2025
Category
Theaters
Primary Building Material
Steel
Building Area
60 m2
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