Norberto Miranda creates inflatable classroom with world’s “thinnest shelf”

Mexican designer Norberto Miranda has created an inflatable “museographic system” made out of PVC with a built-in shelf supported by air stress.

Named Intermittent Dome, the construction was created for The Arts and Cultures Program at Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (TEC) in Monterrey, Mexico, and was tied to a workshop designed to show college students about upcycling in design.

Created from clear PVC, the dome is six metres tall with striations marked by white PVC sheets that, in keeping with Miranda, give the construction a “mise en abyme” impact.

One of many round bands that makes up the dome types a shelf inside the partitions of the construction and is accessible from inside by way of 4 zippers.

“Zippers entry air cells into what could possibly be the thinnest shelf ever, 0.35 millimetres thick, completely suspended by air stress,” mentioned Miranda.

“It has 4 entry factors and is a really foolish course of [to access] as a result of it actually blows your face [when you open it]; we developed some expertise to get the fabric handed the zipper however as soon as inside it behaves fairly properly.”

The shelf runs across the perimeter and can be utilized to showcase gadgets for academic functions or pupil work.

Air is continually being pump into the construction to keep up the shape. A vent on the prime helps to modulate the temperature contained in the construction, which is instantly affected by the skin situations.

“The dome has a gap within the final section, that makes a pure air flow on the prime – it will get scorching should you put it exterior on the straight solar,” mentioned Miranda.

“It does present some shade, although, and shelter from the rain. In the end, it replicates the skin situations, providing diffraction of sunshine coming into.”

Although Miranda typically works with recycled plastics by means of his design studio Bolson, he opted to make use of virgin PVC fabricated by Jalisco-based producer Publiglobos to guarantee structural consistency and to realize a see-through end.

TEC will host workshops within the dome geared in the direction of upcycling processes, and Miranda mentioned he’ll discipline proposals for tactics to recycle the dome as soon as the programming is full.

He mentioned that among the dome could also be transformed into the purses Bolson is thought for, however that he desires college students to “develop the sensibility” addressing the afterlife of initiatives, noting that it doesn’t matter what everything of the dome shall be reprocessed.

Miranda was featured in a cross-section of Guadalajara’s design scene as a part of Dezeen’s North American Design 2024 sequence.

Different inflatables meant for occupation embrace a “womb-like” set up created by Annabelle Schneider throughout NYCxDesign.

The images is courtesy of Norberto Miranda.