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BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

United Kingdom Architecture News - May 22, 2015 - 09:48   10692 views

BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

View of the floating stage from the opposite bank of the Spree river during an evening performance

all images © BOARD

The competition entry “A Unique Moment” of the Rotterdam-based Bureau of Architecture, Research, and Design (BOARD) has been chosen as one of the selected entries for exhibition of the 9th OISTAT 2015 Theatre Architecture Competition. BOARD’s design for a floating theatre on the river Spree in Berlin was chosen from 197 submissions from 38 countries. As one of the best entries “A Unique Moment” will be exhibited at the Prague Quadrennial 2015 and at the Stage-Set-Scenery Event at the Theatre Architecture Competition area in hall 4.2. in Berlin, Germany from June 9 to 11, 2015.

BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

view from the audience space of the Holzmarkt in Berlin during an evening performance

BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

Eisfabrik: BOARD proposes to use the existing machines of the ice-making factory on the opposite bank of the Spree river in Berlin to produce a floating stage out of block ice pieces.

BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

Block Ice: Block ice is typically 20cm wide and deep, and 150cm long. With water and salt, 4225 pieces can be “glued” together to create a 13m x 13m large stage that floats on water.

BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

View from the Holzmarkt during a rehearsal

BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

Balance: Such a floating platform would be ideal to stage a theatre version of the Academy Award-winning animated film “Balance” from 1989, the year in which the Berlin Wall fell.

BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

 

Balance between East and West: As the site was the boundary between East and West Berlin before 1989, the five strange men of the performance will not only balance on a platform, but as well between east and west.

BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

Ephemeral Stage: As the stage is made of ice blocks, it will melt after a couple of days in the water transforming the performance into an ephemeral event and a unique moment.

BOARD’s design for a floating theatre will be exhibited in Berlin and Prague

Audience Space and Facilities: BOARD proposes to locate the space for the audience and all the facilities for the theatre on the land using the existing resources of the Holzmarkt as much as possible.

Project Facts

Title: A Unique Moment
Project: Floating theatre on the river Spree in Berlin, Germany
Date: May 2015
Type: OISTAT Theatre Architecture Competition, international ideas competition
Organizer: Architecture Commission of OISTAT (International Organisation of Scenographers, Technicians and Theatre Architects)
Participants: 197
Ranking: 25.
Location: Berlin, Germany
Site: River Spree in Berlin in an area known as the “Holzmarkt” or wood market”
Programme: Floating theatre
Surface: 169m2
Status: Competition
Awards: Selected Entry for Exhibition
Exhibition: From June 9 to 11, 2015 at the Theatre Architecture Competition during Stage| Set| Scenery—World of Entertainment Technology in Berlin, Germany
Team: Bernd Upmeyer, BOARD

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