Pop-up Habitat

People’s Architecture Office·Beijing, China

2013Commercial · Pop-Ups and TemporaryCultural

Year: 2013
Category: Commercial · Pop-Ups and Temporary
Type: Cultural
Status: Built
Firm: People’s Architecture Office
Location: Beijing, China

The Pop-Up Habitat is a modular and lightweight multi-purpose structural system. Constructed of repurposed reflective panels commonly used in photography, the Pop-Up Habitat makes use of and exaggerates the inherent qualities of these panels: rigidity, flexibility and collapsibility. Pop-Up modules are attached to each other with just velcro and are easily assembled by unskilled labor; each module consists of two halves that can be collapsed into small independent packages. The design is instantly deployable, and goes from flat panels to enclosed tent in just minutes.

The Pop-Up Habitat is customizable and has been deployed as an auditorium, gallery, canopy, shelter and tent in diverse areas: historical, commercial, suburban and city center, inside and outside. Modules can be formed into arches and rooms, linear spaces or stacked vertically to create multi-story free-standing structures. These shimmering modules can be connected to one another to create an infinitely expandable tent city. Playful and visually appealing, the simplicity of constructing the Pop-Up Habitat allows even children to be architects, constructing their own spaces for play and discovery.

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