G. Kumagai
Oppenheimer Park Micro-Theatre, 1994
Washi, xerography and graphite on mylar.
The Oppenheimer Park Pavilion is one of a series of proposed interventions in the Powell Street neighbourhood of Vancouver. This small narrow structure is conceived at once as a public art installation, a memorial and a tiny stage for public oratory and performance.
Its form is derived from the specialized carpenter’s plane used for cutting the tracks of sliding shoji screens. On the main axis is an enclosed passage leading to a slightly elevated stage platform. Within the recessed area at the centre of the structure, the memorial and art concept is envisioned as an automaton that ceaselessly folds tiny paper origami cranes, depositing them at regular intervals into a vessel within the structure, accessible to the public. In Japanese culture the paper crane has come to symbolize healing, hope and perseverance.
Carbon Architects Incorporated 