Apr 16-26: Raumlabor Berlin in NY 10 consecutive evenings of events in an inflatable pavilion in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Roosevelt Island (Above: Kitchen Monument by Raumlaborberlin with Plastique Fantastique, Duisburg, Germany 2006, photo by Marco Canevacci) Spacebuster is a mobile inflatable structure that serves as an entirely portable, expandable pavilion. A new iteration of a past Raumlabor project, the Küchenmonument (presented in Europe in 2006-8), Storefront will bring Spacebuster to the US for the first time this April, when it will travel throughout New York for 10 consecutive evenings hosting various community events. The pavilion is comprised of an inflatable bubble-like dome that emerges from its self-contained compressor housing. The dome expands and organically adjusts to its surroundings, be it in a field, a wooded park, or below a highway overpass. The material is a sturdy, specially-designed translucent plastic, allowing the varying events taking place inside of the shelter – screenings, lecture series, dinners or discussions – to be entirely visible from the outside and likewise the exterior environments become the events’ backdrops. The bubble can be used for a variety of social and cultural purposes. In past installations, the dome became an eat-in kitchen – equipped with a cooking station surrounded by tables and chairs. The bubble allowed cooking, a highly personal and private aspect of domestic life, to enter the urban space of a tree lined median, and simultaneously invigorated this urban park with a communal action. On another occasion the dome was transformed into a ballroom within an overgrown green space no longer open to the public. A live band, dance classes, and performances all worked to bring a cultural event to a neglected zone. Each of these ten evenings will be organized in conjunction with a community group, nonprofit organizations, university, or arts organization. Events will include artist talks, film screenings, communal dinners and many other events. Thursday 16 April, 6.30pm Preview presentation of Spacebuster for press and Storefront members Friday 17 April, 6.30pm Public Vernissage at Gansevoort Plaza* with a talk by Raumlabor (map) Saturday 18 April, 6.30pm Dinner and Gowanus Dance Party in association with MeanRed Productions (Join Storefront's mailing list for further details) Sunday 19 April, 6.30pm Reception for Storefront Benefit Committee Tuesday 21 April, 7.00pm Presented in conjunction with Goethe Institute New York Gathering at Wyoming Building, the new events space of the Goethe Institute NY (map) followed by a lecture by Raumlabor and presentation of the Fragmental Museum at Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center (map) Wednesday 22 April, 7.00pm Screening and discussion: "Examined Life", organized in conjunction with Gavin Browning/Studio-X/Columbia GSAPP Followed by open discussion with Astra Taylor, Avital Ronell and Raumlabor (Location and further info TBA shortly) Thursday 23 April, 7.00pm Iron Designer, organized in conjunction with Studio-X/Columbia GSAPP Iron Designer is organized by Mitchell Joachim, Ioanna Theocharopoulou and Gavin Browning, Columbia GSAPP, as a continuation of ECOGRAM: The Sustainability Question. Featuring teams of M.Arch students from Columbia GSAPP, CCNY, Parsons and Pratt, IRON DESIGNER is a real-time, ecologically-oriented and challenge-based happening loosely based on “Iron Chef”. (Location and further info TBA shortly) Friday 24 April, 7.00pm Screening of Gets Under the Skin Films and Videos on Modernist Architecture curated by Hajnalka Somogyi (link) Screening of Utopie 18, a movie by Raumlabor, followed by open discussion with the public. Screenings will take place under the High Line (map) Saturday 25 April, 3.00pm On Saturday, April 25th 2009, Storefront for Art and Architecture and Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership will organize a joint community-oriented event to be held in the unused space under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway along Park Avenue. The focus of this workshop will be on how disused spaces of this kind can be re-imagined as neighborhood assets. During activities facilitated by planners and designers including Raumlabor, workshop attendees will be able to share their thoughts by sketching, through discussions, and by exchanging ideas. The event will be free and open to the public. (Location and further info TBA shortly) Sunday 26 April, 6.30pm Finissage - closing reception and goodbye to Raumlabor (Location and further info TBA shortly) About Raumlabor Raumlabor is a group of architects and urban designers based in Berlin, Germany. Raumlabor began working on the issues of contemporary architecture and urbanism in 1999. Working in various interdisciplinary teams they investigate strategies for urban renewal. Raumlabor’s work deals with urban design and planning, architectural design, landscape, buliding interactive environments, research and design of public space and art installations. Their public art installations have been shown in Vienna, Austria, numerous cities in Germany, as well as numerous biennials and exhibition spaces throughout Europe.