Beijing Design Week is one of the best weeks to get out of your comfort zone and go exploring. Unleashed across the city landscape are various projects that seek to encapsulate the ethos of design as well as inform people about the interesting dialogues that are happening in the world of architecture, graphics, and more. We spoke with Bill Webb from Make Architects about his collaboration with Great Leap Brewing to find out how a pop-up project like ‘Kite Bar’ comes into existence.

DESIGN
To reflect the “cacophony of historical references” a city like Beijing has to offer, a traditional craft – kite making – was selected to reflect a unique cultural pastime that has survived the bombardment of modern city development. By re-interpreting the old and bringing it into the current light, discussions surrounding the impact of a pop-up space, and cultural significance of past and present design, can be combined. As for where the project is placed, the environment is taken into great consideration in terms of both physical applications and social influence. Great Leap Brewing is an iconic modern brand in Beijing that employs its own local craft – beer brewing – and through this initiates and propels social interactions. The Number 12 Xinzhong Brewpub, where ‘Kite Bar’ is located, will bring design discussion to a newer audience who may not usually encounter design, embodying the spirit of Beijing Design Week.

MANUFACTURE
Material choices are fundamental in maintaining a successful project and the selected materials must be used in ways that enhance their inherent properties (tension, compression, flexibility, etc) while staying true to the design. A project like ‘Kite Bar’, which reflects the social variability found in bar discussions along with qualities found in traditional kite making, needs to have playful qualities. Oriental stand board (OSB) is the primary material used for ‘Kite Bar’ as it is capable of bearing heavy loads while remaining in its unique geometric lattice design. It is also hugely affordable and environmentally sound, qualities that are highly valued by designers and voyeurs alike.

INSTALLATION
With the development of technology, a pop-up project can act as more than a physical engagement of space, but as a communicative hub that has a broader output in regards to ideas and discussions. Video and social media are increasingly becoming popular channels to research, compile, and communicate ideas, and as such the use of multimedia techniques are expanding. During Beijing Design Week, the use of social technology, like video and social messaging, is encouraged from both the BJDW participants and the public, to further connect ideas regarding the future of design.

Open from September 26 at Great Leap Number 12 Xinzhong Brewpub, everyone is encouraged to go and interact with this playful pop-up project, and discuss over a pint or two the energies Beijing Design Week brings to the city.

Bill Webb is an architect for Make Architects, a highly creative, employee-owned, studio with prominent knowledge regarding advanced architectural techniques applied to the creation of iconic buildings.

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Images: Bill Webb/Make Architects