The inflatable ‘antepavilion’ by Thomas Randall-Page and Benedetta Rogers is afloat on the Regents Canal

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Moored alongside a collection of artists’ studios on Regents Canal in east London, the Architecture Foundation’s second annual ‘antepavilion’ comprises a bulbous yellow inflatable enclosure emerging out of the hull of a 1930s barge. This incongruous object resembles a downed zeppelin or perhaps an over-scaled vegetable – “It’s been called all sorts of things”, says co-designer Thomas Randall-Page, who won the pavilion competition with Benedetta Rogers, “from egg-plant to butternut squash” – but has a practical purpose: deflating the balloon allows the craft to pass under low canal bridges. It also makes a counterpoint to existing spaces in the adjacent studio complex, which doubles as a rugged events venue. “We are surrounded by hard surfaces here, so we wanted to do something soft and forgiving, where you could take off your shoes and lie around”, says Randall-Page.

The client for the project is the studios’ owner, Shiva Ltd, which provides a £25,000 budget. The great majority of this was spent on the manufacture of the physical fabric, with work on site completed by volunteers over the course of a month. Aside from the hull, the pavilion’s two principal components are the inflatable enclosure and a sloping inflatable pvc floor inside, on which up to 30 visitors can lounge while watching performances on a small wooden stage. Both components were made by Cameron Balloons, which specialises in the fabrication of hot-air balloons, dirigibles and other inflatables.

Randall-Page and Rogers worked closely with the company to determine an appropriate form for the nylon enclosure, which is visually separated from the hull by a clear plastic ribbon windows, and prevented from lift-off by zigzagging cables. “You want an even load on the membrane, so it always tends toward a circle in section”, says Randall-Page. “There was a lot of discussion about how to minimise wrinkles”. (The designers had originally considered a more ‘billowing’ form, for which structural engineer AKTII developed a grasshopper script, but “got seduced by images of airships”, says Randall-Page).

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