ON CLOUD NINE

摘要

A cloud hangs over the heads of visitors to the bus station on the bustling Bahnhofstrasse main street in Aarau, Switzerland. But rather than signaling the onset of precipitation, this cloud is a protective, air-filled membrane-and the world's largest, single-chamber ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) structure. Designed by Zurich, Switzerland-based firm Vehovar & Jauslin Architektur (VJA), the translucent canopy maintains an airy feel. Sunlight streaming through a pattern printed on the membrane's colorless bottom ply and blue-tinted top ply create the dappling effect of light filtering through trees. The lower ply's pattern is subtle, revealing the structure's internal framing from below, while the upper pattern is denser to reflect light pollution at night. And at the center of the canopy, the sky is visible through a sinuous oculus, which VJA partner and co-founder Mateja Vehovar says was designed to mimic a clearing in the woods.