Foreword:Foreword: On Friday, August 8th FRCH challenged our entire team to a 24-Hour Design Pop-Up Challenge. We divided the entire company into 8 cross-disciplinary teams to collaboratively create a pop-up concept within 24 hours. The winning concept will be implemented at Cincinnati’s MidPoint Music Festival starting September 25th. Because of the inspired, original results we received, we will be sharing all 8 concepts over the next several weeks on Creative Fuel.
Name: POP-INS Pavilion (Team #4)
Concept Overview: Our design of POP-INS Pavilion flips the icon of Mary Poppins on her head and creates a space centered on the act of imagining, dreaming and creating different perspectives. The word “POP” becomes the thread, weaving the experiences together, while Mary POPins becomes a quiet background figure, speechlessly leading you through the space, narrating your experience.
As guests enter the POP-in Pavilion, they are invited to engage in the space, and in the story, to experience new tastes, smells, sounds and sights. A large table nearly encompasses the entire foyer, filled to the brim with delicious treats: POP-corn, POP-rocks, ring-POPs, POP-tarts, etc. These are meant to be shared, enjoyed and remembered as small tokens of childhood past, but seen as a new, expressive art form and theme. To the far right is a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling chalk board featuring a gallery of open and empty frames. Guests are invited to create unique pieces of artwork within the frames and extended onto the wall behind. Why not take some POP-corn kernels and make them into an animated animal sketch, or use the POP-rocks as stars within a colorful galaxy of interstellar wonder? The opposite wall encourages guests to give back to the arts, the community and children’s organizations through a variety of opportunities and programs. The delightful POP-ins icon narrates the importance of art within our schools, community and in the minds of our future generations.
After their senses have been fully engaged, and upon entering the second space, guests begin to interact, imagine and “perform” their own works of art. Oversize frames of various sizes are hung along the exterior walls, and mounted on rolling casters, inviting guests to snap a photo of themselves and their friends within uniquely curated scenes. Props are strewn throughout the space and behind frames to inspire creativity and allow the frames to be shared among friends and groups of people. Rather than just creating works of art, guests BECOME the work of art.
Finally, guests pass through the building to the exterior patio, a place of quiet and escape. External power resources are available to recharge, phones and cameras, while lounge furniture and a healthy stock of beverages allows guests, themselves, to recharge. Creativity is best accomplished once we have time to escape our worries and doubts, setting them aside for just a moment, allowing inspiration and dreams to once again permeate our minds and hearts. It also acts as a mental recharge once we have imagined and dreamed, created and become.
