Summer Igloo
Summer Igloo is a temporary pavilion first built for the 2014 C!here Art Crawl in Beijing. Made from colorful inflatable pool rings, it uses familiar objects of summer recreation to construct an intimate space within a large public setting. Visitors could enter the dome and see the surrounding housing development through its layered, brightly colored structure.
The project brings together two forms usually associated with different seasons: the protective enclosure of an igloo and the lightness of inflatable pool toys. Arranged as a geodesic dome, the rings give a collection of individual objects an architectural scale. Their color and soft material invite curiosity and play, while the small interior creates a moment of retreat within the surrounding urban space.
The pavilion was conceived with the objects’ lives after the event in mind. Following the Beijing installation, the pool toys were donated to a charity for local children. The pavilion was temporary, but its components could return to everyday use.
In 2015, Summer Igloo was developed again as four color-coordinated structures for Boston PlayDay at The Lawn on D. Spread across the site, the smaller igloos became individual play spaces. At the end of the event, they were dismantled and their inflatable components were given to visitors. Across both versions, the project asks how an installation can create a shared experience without treating its materials as disposable.
Project information
Beijing installation: C!here Art Crawl, 2014
Boston installation: Boston PlayDay at The Lawn on D, 2015
Project type: Temporary interactive pavilion
Materials: Inflatable pool rings
Design and fabrication: Virginia Ellyn Melnyk
Beijing construction assistance: Ryan Lamb
Published in: Sharon Francis, Bubbletecture: Inflatable Architecture and Design (Phaidon, 2019)