Created by students from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), led by Benjamin Ball,Gaston Nouges and Andrew Lyon of Ball-Nouges Studio, Elastic Plastic Sponge is large scale installation, designed and built for the famous Coachella Festival. Unique in form, this installation is highly flexible and can be twisted, curled and arched in order to form different spaces, ranging from lounge, theater, sun-shade to large sculptural Mobius strip.

Precisely described in architectural terminology as form active, meaning that its form is derived from the material properties, the installation was difficult to be studied only using digital tools and it required testing full-scale mock-ups in the field. Temporary structures are usually constructed using modular system that enables transportation and fast reassembling on site. This assembly is made of 250 unit cells; each fabricated using custom jigs, designed by SCI-Arc students. Due to its adaptability, the structure allows changing crowd, climate and site conditions.

Made of lightweight flexible plastic tube, the installation was actually weaved like a big basket. The individual gems are held together using loops of aircraft cable precisely threaded through small holes drilled in the tubing. The gems were further held together as a big ribbon using worm drive hose clamps in precise locations. The structure operated as a big sponge – it was squishy and unbreakable, therefore very suitable for festival environment. As it was open and anchored to the ground using earth nails, in heavy winds it was stationary. In order to serve as festival attraction at night, the whole assembly was arrayed with T5 fluorescent tubes gelled purple.

The important lesson was learned during two weeks while the aggregation was finally assembled – it actually wasn’t possible to twist the ribbon in 3D software and expect it to perform the same way it happens in space and sometimes physical, full-scale mock-ups are necessary.