MAD joined forces with BIG, INABA and MASS Studies to create four urban proposals for the city of Ansan, South Korea. The project, curated by Jeffrey Inaba, will be exhibited at Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art from December 17th 2008.

At first glance, these proposals represent a new urban plan for the city: a suite of would-be 'iconic' and monumental new buildings. Yet the proposals also function at a different scale: in the gallery itself, the models used to advertise each project take on a new role: as furniture for the gallery space.

We named our contribution to the exhibition 'Beautiful Minds', an artificial and intelligent response to Ansan's natural environment. At the urban scale, the project takes the form of a cultural pyramid, topped with tentacles which suspend inspiration pods high above the distractions of the city. Meanwhile, as furniture, the project provides a place to sit, read, and learn. Here, the tentacles provide a different kind of illumination.

For more coverage on the event:
http://www.bustler.net/index.php/article/big_inaba_mad_mass_four_proposals_for_ansan_opens_today