MURMURATION

SO-IL is an internationally recognized architecture and design firm led by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu, based in New York, previously featured on WeVux. They create structures and installations that inform new cultures, institutions, and networks.
The studio recently created Murmuration, a temporary installation for the High Museum of Art, that responds directly to the architecture of its Renzo Piano-designed Piazza. Florian and Jing came up with the installation as part of their effort to give migratory birds a place for respite in the city.

As guests cross the Piazza, they are enveloped by a foliage-filled mesh canopy suspended from a steel framework, evocative of the tree canopies found throughout the region. They worked with Atlanta-based engineers Uzun & Case to develop a constellation of metal frames suspended from six poles and wrapped in agricultural netting, which gives the installation its shape. The sculptural arrangement echoes the form of a bird murmuration, a flock of birds, momentarily suspended in midair.​ ​The canopy is strewn with ample birdfeeders, seating perches, and other playful elements to encourage interaction, observation, and awareness. The experience is designed to spur conversations around biodiversity, extinction, and cohabitation.

The city’s canopy provides shade, cleans the air, and helps reduce stormwater runoff. Creating a sustainable future for Atlanta includes maintaining or increasing the number of trees. In its title and concept, ​Murmuration​ also directly advocates for conservation efforts toward birds, questioning their loss and the terms for our future environment.
The structure was fabricated and fully erected in Mexico before being shipped to Atlanta. As such the installation can be deinstalled and reinstalled in future locations and create its own migratory path.

Photos by Fredrik Bauer and SO-IL

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