Petal Project 5 was developed for DesCours 2008, an AIA New Orleans sponsored event. When TZCO visited DesCours 2007, one aspect that we really enjoyed was the anticipation of visiting the courtyards—hidden pockets of green within the French Quarter that one doesn’t often have an opportunity to see. Petal Project 5 was developed based on a desire to assimilate with the existing courtyard through a subtle insertion to achieve our two programmatic goals, which were seating and lighting.
Given the durational aspect of the event, we also wanted the seating configuration to be adaptable to individual and collective desires. When nested together (which was the formation during the CNC manufacturing process) the petal-form seating can be closely packed to create a petalscape for intimate conversation. But when distributed throughout the courtyard, they create a landscape of discrete pieces.
The configuration affects the social ambience and illumination of the space. Each petalform seat is embedded with its own solar panel that powers an LED light strand. The strands emit a subtle glow, but when the petals are nested together, the collective petalscape produces a more intense luminosity. In order to enhance the disco effect, we scattered lasercut shades with embedded LEDs along the green wall.
