Cloud Seeding
Taipei, Taiwan
The project Cloud Seeding is inspired by the pot plantings that one can see everywhere in Taiwan’s cityscapes. These lively and diverse creations are mostly rooted on the surface between the private and the public in Taiwanese cities; they blur or intrude upon the boundaries, creating a dynamic reading of the cities. A cityscape constituted of these pot plantings is democratic—citizens use plants to talk to the city, while the city accommodates these diverse expressions and voices.
Cloud Seeding is a temporary “field office” for the progress of the city. The sequence of the project narrative starts from a green roof that is floating on the square of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Viewing it at close range, guests will find that this suspended green landscape is made up of a wide range of flora that inhabits different environments in Taiwan, from alpine to coastal areas. The triangle-shaped roof gently descends at its center, creating a protective shield from the wind. The plants with different properties and shapes are arranged accordingly to survive the summer sun.
This floating green roof is supported by 8,000 translucent planters made of recycled polypropylene. The planters’ wave-textured surfaces and drain holes allow them to be assembled with bolts and offset vertically from one to the other to create the undulating roof. Visitors can freely enjoy the shaded spaces provided by the roof and green leaves or climb up the wooden pedestals to be surrounded by the plantings on the roof. The roof is also equipped with water sprinklers, motion-censor lights, and a live-streaming camera that are all aimed to facilitate interactions with viewers both on-site and online.
Cloud Seeding is a dynamic net that seeks to capture and trace the builders that help to spread its seeds (pot plantings). The planters will be gradually taken to different parts of the city by visitors during the weekly adoption events throughout the three-month exhibition. It is a process that transforms visitors into subjective narrators and extends the life of the installation by dispersing its parts. Perhaps some pot plantings will be reassembled somewhere in the city or be shared, along with their growth stories, with the city by means of the exhibition’s online platform. From assembly to dispersion, Cloud Seeding is an anecdote about how people can participate in the construction of the city together.
Cloud Seeding is a temporary “field office” for the progress of the city. The sequence of the project narrative starts from a green roof that is floating on the square of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Viewing it at close range, guests will find that this suspended green landscape is made up of a wide range of flora that inhabits different environments in Taiwan, from alpine to coastal areas. The triangle-shaped roof gently descends at its center, creating a protective shield from the wind. The plants with different properties and shapes are arranged accordingly to survive the summer sun.
This floating green roof is supported by 8,000 translucent planters made of recycled polypropylene. The planters’ wave-textured surfaces and drain holes allow them to be assembled with bolts and offset vertically from one to the other to create the undulating roof. Visitors can freely enjoy the shaded spaces provided by the roof and green leaves or climb up the wooden pedestals to be surrounded by the plantings on the roof. The roof is also equipped with water sprinklers, motion-censor lights, and a live-streaming camera that are all aimed to facilitate interactions with viewers both on-site and online.
Cloud Seeding is a dynamic net that seeks to capture and trace the builders that help to spread its seeds (pot plantings). The planters will be gradually taken to different parts of the city by visitors during the weekly adoption events throughout the three-month exhibition. It is a process that transforms visitors into subjective narrators and extends the life of the installation by dispersing its parts. Perhaps some pot plantings will be reassembled somewhere in the city or be shared, along with their growth stories, with the city by means of the exhibition’s online platform. From assembly to dispersion, Cloud Seeding is an anecdote about how people can participate in the construction of the city together.
Location
Taipei, Taiwan
Category
Installation
Execution
ARMU d+a
Landscape
Hsiao-Chun Chen,
Man-Ching Ho
User Inteface
Desiree Niu,
Kuan-Ju Wu
Status
Competition, finalist, 2017
Taipei, Taiwan
Category
Installation
Execution
ARMU d+a
Landscape
Hsiao-Chun Chen,
Man-Ching Ho
User Inteface
Desiree Niu,
Kuan-Ju Wu
Status
Competition, finalist, 2017
