Published on : Tuesday, July 1, 2014
molo founders/designers Stephanie Forsythe + Todd MacAllen choose collaborators carefully. They search out projects that show interest, creative approach, and strong dedication to an idea. When the opportunity to collaborate with the Architecture and Design Film Festival on a temporary screening room at Dwell on Design presented itself, it fit all the criteria.
Architect Kyle Bergman (who began his career building projects with his own hands, similar to Forsythe + MacAllen) started the Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF) in 2010 in New York, becoming the first film festival in North America dedicated solely to “celebrating the creative spirit behind… remarkable architecture and design.” Following four successful years of programing, the festival continues in Los Angeles and New York this year, with a Chicago showing promised next year. For an additional screening at Dwell on Design, Bergman sought to create a unique space to show a selection of short films he chose from the festival archives. Among the fifteen films were Machine for Life by Ruth Somalo, Zaha Hadid Burnham Centennial Pavilion by Tom Rossiter, and Mudgee Tower by Naomi Bishops and Richard Raber.
For Forsythe + MacAllen, collaborations are opportunities to draw out new potential in the products created at the molo studio. By stretching the boundaries of how a product is considered, room to imagine new uses and accessories is made. Creating a compelling space brings engagement and memorable experience. The screening room with ADFF had to fit the imagination, ambition, and refinement of both the short films being shown and the ADFF as a whole. The idea of “going to the theatre” – understanding theatre is as much about creating a space as it is about the size of the screen – was a uniting concept for Forsythe + MacAllen and Bergman in thinking of softwall for the space.
The flexibility, acoustic properties, and quick setup of softwall makes it perfect for creating a temporary theatre. The honeycomb structure of softwall facilitates its flexibility and acoustics. The form has no right angles, is pre-disposed to forming curved walls that eliminate reflections, and creates individual pockets of air that insulate sound especially well in vocal frequencies. molo’s new benchwall could be used in addition to form intimate seating spaces that isolate filmgoers from the conversation and distraction of other patrons.
Tags: “going to the theatre”, Forsythe + MacAllen, Kyle Bergman, Los Angeles, New York, Stephanie Forsythe + Todd MacAllen, Tom Rossiter
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