Inverted Portal, Landscape Structures
Ensamble Studio
Montana, US

Cultivating structures of landscape from the landscape. For architecture and the natural environment to interact, we have to understand their internal logic and materialize it. Reinterpreting geological transformation processes, Ensamble Studio works with earth and rocks in developing techniques that enable us to manipulate the structural, acoustic, and thermal processes of these local materials at different scales. The Tippet Rise Art Center, located at the edge of Yellowstone National Park in Montana, seeks to bring together music, landscape, and large outdoor sculptures like Inverted Portal to introduce visitors to an unprecedented experience.

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© Iwan Baan
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© Iwan Baan

To form the shells, two molds were dug up from the earth. Once the steel grid which rigidifies the interior of the pieces was configured, concrete was poured and left to harden. Finally, the process of raising it and anchoring it to the base makes the magic of the architecture emerge, not from paper but through firsthand observation of natural phenomena and their ability to create beauty and sensitivity.

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© Ensamble Studio
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© Ensamble Studio
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© Ensamble Studio
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© Ensamble Studio
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© Ensamble Studio
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© Iwan Baan
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© Iwan Baan
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© Iwan Baan
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© Ensamble Studio

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