TouchTile Talkspace
Clerkenwell Design Week
Rock Townsend got involved in Clerkenwell Design Week’s competition to design a pop-up structure. Here’s our proposal - delighted to get shortlisted among so many fab designs!
TouchTile is a dynamic and physically interactive installation and events space which encourages the public to touch and engage with the structure.
The visitors can modify the adaptable façade by simply pushing the Equitone tiles to create a texturally different appearance externally and modify the amount of daylight internally. This movement celebrates the haptic properties of the material, allowing the public to experience the pavilion in a ‘hands-on’ manner. It also means that the space can be either open to the landscape or completely enclosed depending on the specific event.
The tiles are cut from a standard size panel into 100 equally sized pieces, resulting in zero wastage. To showcase the potential of the material, a smooth and an etched tile are connected and threaded onto a vertical steel bar which allows the double-faced tile to rotate.
Taking inspiration from the surrounding environment of the park, the muted green tones of the Equitone Natura create an appropriate and delicate temporary addition to the area. The system uses standard panels that can be prefabricated which will make for quick assembly on site. At the end of the Clerkenwell Design Week the panels can be dismantled allowing for ease of transportation and potential relocation. Once the structure is no longer required, the ‘tiles’ can be reused as architectural samples.
The roof of the pavilion comprises a flat frosted recycled polycarbonate plane fixed to a simple timber structure keeping the elements out of the events space.
We believe using the product in a non-traditional way, showcases the possibilities of Equitone beyond its typical applications.
TouchTile is an aesthetically subtle but impactful proposal which engages the public and makes for a memorable (and Instagram-able) talk space.
Summary
Description: Pop-up structure
Designed & Shortlisted: January 2020 - full shortlist here.
RT Team: Domi Chisca; Louis Carrow; Peter Phillipps; Tim Robinson