Remember jungle gyms from the playgrounds of yesteryear? In retrospect, those metal bar structures were fun because of the versatility of space; what used to be a foothold could instantly transform into a seat, and later a roof overhead. The Verbandkammer, an immense and industrial installation piece, plays a variation on this concept of multifunctional, modular space in portraying the institutions of archive, administration, workplace, and discourse. Designed by Nilsson Pflugfelder, a studio that focuses on spatial critique, the Verbandkammer offers carrels of workspace, opportunities for shelving, tiered seating areas, storage cubbies, and even platforms reminiscent of sleeper cars. The complexities of the polygonal shape are all systematically resolved through program placement within the structure, though the elegance of its mutable nature is demonstrated through the Verbandkammer’s impending disassembly into separate, functional units to be distributed throughout FLACC, which serves as a workplace for visual artists.
Images courtesy of Nilsson Pflugfelder
