The Cloud

The Cloud is a site specific work created by the architectural firm Shjworks. The project introduces stay, light and placemaking in a recreational space belonging to a social housing estate in Copenhagen.

One sculptural shape which is illuminated at night is the main element of the project. The aim ofShjworks is to show that one organic, complex and site specific shape can create a strong relation between people and place. Themain elementconsists of pieces of white polycarbonate sewn together with stainless steel wire. This element iselevated and supported by nine legs of stainless steel. The nine legs are fixed and grounded to three concrete feet.

The sewing technique of Shjworks has been developed from their previous work into a more complex pattern making, which creates a very unique and sculptural shape. In their previous work they have often worked with the sphere in a distorted form to create shapes and spaces. Each time they worked with a distorted sphere they had two points in the pattern making where all the sewing lines met - similar to how the longitudes meet in the poles on a globe. This timethey argue that again they have made a distorted sphere, and that this time the sphere has three points where the sewing lines meet. This new way of pattern making opens up for creating shapes with many gathering points for the sewing lines, and therefore an openness in the future to make much more complex shapes and spaces with a richness in spatial connections and progression.

The Cloud is placed in a recreational space surrounded by a road, trees and the housing estate. A paved pathleads through the space. The organic shape, its orientation and placementare related to this unique setting. The shape is lifted and sculpted towards the road in a formal and authoritarian posture. This creates a distinction between the road as public space and the recreational space as semi-public space. When you move around The Cloud, and when you follow the paved path the view and the silhouette of the project changes radically due to its asymmetrical and complex shape. Towards the housing estate The Cloud has a more laid back appearance. The functions of the concrete feet are both to ground the project with weight and to offer a place to sit. The recreational space becomes denser with the spatial presence of the project. Due to this and the size of the project it adds a more human scale to the recreational space in comparison with the nearby five storey tall building blocks. The Cloud has been well received by the local residents. Kids play on and around the project and teenagers and elders hang around it and enjoy its presence both in the day time, and in the special atmosphere at night time when it is illuminated.