Portable structures are the latest must-have for art collectors. Now thanks to Revolution you don’t have to buy vintage, but can order a new pavilion by a world-famous contemporary architect
Perhaps it is the influence of the Serpentine Gallery’s pavilion project – now in its 15th year – or the current fashion among art collectors for acquiring the quick-to-assemble emergency maisons designed by Jean Prouvé in the 1940s and 50s (currently on show next to Claridge’s in Patrick Seguin’s pop up gallery). But there seems to be an appetite for small portable structures – part artwork, part functional shelter – that can be installed just about anywhere and possibly bear the name of a very well-known architect.
Last week in Miami at the Design Miami fair, a whole new series was launched by a company called Revolution, set up the flamboyant real-estate developer Robbie Antonio. “All architecture is bespoke,” said one of the pavilion designers, the emerging Thai architect Kulapat Yantrasast. “This is prêt-à-porter.”
Yantrasast own structure comprises a central dome with four wings, and its outer cladding of anodised aluminium can be specified in any shade the buyer might like. Its interior is lined with a gold or silver finish. “Everyone likes to have a place for themselves. It’s a more elaborate version of sitting under a tree,” said Yantrasast.
Other names involved in the project are better known. Like Zaha Hadid for example, whose Volu Dining Pavilion was on show at the fair, a sophisticated assemblage of a continuous circular platform and roof containing an organically shaped dining table and seating, constructed in wood and metal. […]
