PROGRAMMABLE PUBLIC ART

pARC transforms an art museum terrace into an interactive community art installation.

Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, pARC is a public art installation formed by a series of interconnected arches that create an open-ended programmable space, which is brought to life through the interactions of its users. Designed by multidisciplinary design studio The Urban Conga, the installation resides outside Ackland Art Museum located on the University of North Carolina campus.

The Ackland hosts a surplus of diverse programming within its doors, but it seemed many community members were unaware of the museum and what it had to offer. pARC was designed to sit on the open terrace of the museum, serving as a bridge to connect it to the street as a programmable extension of the conversations, events, teachings and other programming available in the area.

The design shows how play can be utilised as a tool in the democratisation of art institutions, effectively removing art from the pedestal to allow people to take ownership of the work and the space. It invites people from the street into the museum, attracting people who may have previously been uncomfortable entering the space. The installation becomes a transformative communal platform, allowing all users to engage with the museum, university and each other in new ways.

The design of pARC both mimics and contrasts the Georgian-style architecture of the museum. The design takes the symmetrical colonial composition and breaks it into a series of interconnected arcs. These arcs appear to grow up from the ground to frame the various social spaces, allowing users to project their own identity onto the work, the museum and the surrounding space.

pARC represents a flexible communal space evoking endless ways to play, gather, perform, teach, converse, or even take a nap. The spatial gesture takes on its users’ identities and utilises its playable design to break down social barriers and spark communal connection within the space. Underneath the grass sits a sustainable mesh system that allows for wheelchair access, while still allowing the grass to grow up through it.

The colour of the work was designed in coordination with the rebranding of the museum, helping to draw people into the building and serving as a connector to its new brand and mission. The work utilises universal design standards to make it an inclusive space that anyone can use.

Each archway serves as a framed or reflective view of the surrounding context, allowing the user to view the area through a different lens. As one passes the work, they begin to realise that their movement changes the colours of the panels, sparking different filtered views of the area around them. The installation not only responds to the user, but also to the environment by reflecting and refracting the surrounding landscape through dichroic lenses, while also casting shadows onto the ground and the panels themselves.

pARC stands as a transformative landmark for all types of play, from physical to fantasy, highlighting how play can be utilised as a critical tool in evoking more inclusive and equitable communal spaces.

PROJECT PARTICULARS

Client Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina

Location Chapel Hill, USA

Design The Urban Conga

Photography Ryan Swanson, Tom Waldenberg & Anna Routh Barzin

COMPANY

The Urban Conga

W            theurbanconga.com