THE SMILE IS DESIGNED TO MAKE US SMILE NOW

THE SMILE -- ALISON BROOKS

Great architecture inspires great emotion. Perhaps the most direct example of this phenomenon is “The Smile,” an interactive temporary architecture installation, designed by renowned Alison Brooks Architects for London Design Festival 2016.

BeautifulNow was present for the preview opening of the festival’s highlight project. This landmark monument, shaped like a smile, makes us smile as we experience it from every angle, inside and out.

Created together with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and engineering firm Arup, this cutting edge design is an engineering feat. The beautifully curved tubular structure is made from giant panels of cross-laminated tulipwood (CLT).  

The layered construction was created with wood fibers, turned at right angles with each successive level. This new use of hardwood will transform the way architects and engineers approach timber construction.

The Smile’s self-supporting structure cantilevers from a single point in the center, creating sheltered areas underneath. It measures 3.5m high, 4.5m wide and 34m long. Innovative engineering produced surprisingly thin walls and floor panels, only 100mm thick.

Visitors can walk up The Smile’s sloping arms to each open end to get a beautiful view over the city.  

The Smile’s walls are perforated with oval holes, measuring between 12cm and 20cm, which allow daylight to filter in and lay ever-changing patterns across the interior space throughout the day.

After dark, The Smile emits beams of light from each end, in effect elongating the structure.

The Smile is on view at the Chelsea College of Arts through October 12, 2016.

Read more about Beautiful Design in The Kinetic Art & Design Of Time Now, Innovative Biological Design is Beautiful Now, Design is Making Food and Drink More Beautiful Now, Incredible Design Alchemy At London Design Festival 2016, Utopia by Design is Beautiful Now at London Design Biennale and Envisioning Scent as Sculpture.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Ed Reeve. Courtesy of London Design Festival. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks Architects. London Design Festival 2016.
2. Image: by Ed Reeve. Courtesy of London Design Festival. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks Architects. London Design Festival 2016.
3. Image: by Ed Reeve. Courtesy of London Design Festival. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks Architects. London Design Festival 2016.
4. Image: by Ed Reeve. Courtesy of London Design Festival. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks Architects. London Design Festival 2016.
5. Image: Courtesy of Alison Brooks Architects. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks. London Design Festival 2016.
6. Image: by Ed Reeve. Courtesy of London Design Festival. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks Architects. London Design Festival 2016.
7. Image: Courtesy of Alison Brooks Architects. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks. London Design Festival 2016.
8. Image: by Ed Reeve. Courtesy of London Design Festival. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks Architects. London Design Festival 2016.
9. Image: by Ed Reeve. Courtesy of London Design Festival. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks Architects. London Design Festival 2016.
10. Image: Courtesy of London Design Festival. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks Architects. London Design Festival 2016.
11. Image: by BN App - Download now!
12. Image: Courtesy of Alison Brooks Architects. “The Smile,” designed by Alison Brooks. London Design Festival 2016.