Project Profile

Austin, Texas

Project Details

New Construction: Yes

Date Built: September 23–25, 2005

Building Type: Lounges, Small Project Objects

City: Austin

State: TX

Country: USA

Project Team

Architect: Legge Lewis Legge

Client: Austin Green Art

Description

Cup City, a temporary interactive lounge, was constructed over the course of the 3-day Austin City Limits Music Festival using 41 (6’x15’) Rent-A-Fence panels, zip ties and approximately 25,000 pieces of garbage. The walls of the lounge were slowly filled with disposable containers by concert-goers and volunteers, many of whom spent hours arranging and rearranging patterns in the chain link panel walls. Cup City engaged and displayed a portion of the Festival crowds' stream of consumption, diverting approximately 25,000 used bottles, cups and cans into its ever-changing web.

Jury Comments

It is really intriguing that the framework was all that was created. Then a large group of people, over several days, transformed it into a work of art with trash. It has strong environmental statement, ‘What are we doing to the planet with all this trash?’ Because you can interact with the ‘trash’ material instead of just tossing it; it makes us realize that the designation of ‘trash’ can be relative. This object keeps the ’trash’ in the visual realm, instead of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. It also offers people a unique artistic medium to work with and throws the creativity back to the public. There’s an aspect of fun and a real aspect of learning.

Awards

Small Project Awards 2009

Cup City, view of ceiling, night, day 3. (Image courtesy of Legge Lewis Legge)

Cup City, 3D model. (Image courtesy of Legge Lewis Legge)

Cup City, 25 individual half-panels, ea 6'x7.5'. (Image courtesy of Legge Lewis Legge)