project

O2 Store at The O2, London – Interactive Inflated PVC Pillow Wall with Colour-Changing LED Lighting

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General information

  • Home page
    https://www.architen.com/projects/o2-shop/
  • Location address
    The O2, Greenwich Peninsula, London, UK
  • Location country
    United Kingdom
  • Year of construction
    2007
  • Name of the client/building owner
    O2
  • Function of building
    Shops and stores
  • Degree of enclosure
    Fully enclosed structure
  • Type of application of the membrane
    internal
  • Primary function of the tensile structure
    • Space defining elements

Description

When AEG and O2 transformed the former Millennium Dome into The O2 entertainment district, O2 created a concept store and interactive lounge in the main entranceway to showcase its services. Designers JPDA saw the O2 brand as soft and tactile, and wanted a laboratory-style space that would encourage visitors to play with the phones and their surroundings. Fabric was chosen to contrast with the chrome, glass and hard angles usually associated with technology.

Architen Landrell created a feature wall of large inflated PVC-coated polyester pillows across two entire walls, echoing the bubbles in O2's logo. Architen Landrell's lighting team lit the pillows from behind with LED colour changers mounted on the support frame, and proximity sensors behind each column change the lighting effects as customers approach or move away, making the wall genuinely interactive.

The installation brought two unusual challenges. Nothing could be fixed to the floor, so the whole system, including fabric, lighting, steelwork and controls, had to be suspended from the existing wall. The design also called for the pillows to have a particular wrinkled finish, so the pillows were welded in a specific way and a dedicated welding tool was made so that the wrinkles formed consistently on every pillow.

The client credited the interactive wall as the making of the store, which quickly became a place for visitors and executives alike to relax and play.

Client/building owner: O2 (store within The O2, operated by AEG). Designer: JPDA. Fabric, lighting and controls design, fabrication and installation: Architen Landrell.

Description of the environmental conditions

Internal retail installation within The O2, protected from the weather. Inflated PVC-coated polyester pillows form an interactive, backlit feature wall suspended from the existing structure.

Material of the cover

  • Material Fabric/Foil
    PVC - coated polyester fabric

Main dimensions and form

Duration of use

Involved companies

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