Camping Imitating Art

The 21st century has already seen a lot of change where age-old traditions are rapidly being revolutionised for the better or worse. From electronic books to electric-powered cars; 3D television to online supermarket shopping, we are undoubtedly living in a new age in which even the art of camping has now literally become an art. Studio Dré Wapenaar is the latest Dutch team to employ the basic principles of camping into modern architectural designs that they call ‘canvas architecture’. For them, it’s about the sculptural aspect of a tent and how its design connects individuals and brings them together. Furthermore, it’s about how these simple tent structures can be redesigned into modern day architectural complexes that still enable people to relate to one another like they do when camping. The answer lies with the designs themselves. From tent villages to tree tents; newspaper-kiosk tents to BBQ tents and flower stalls,

each of the structures have been designed to fit in with the modern landscape, whether it’s metropolitan or rural. Soon you may be holding business meetings in an elevated canvas pod, or buying your newspaper from a tent kiosk. Admittedly these designs are rather ‘out there’ and perhaps a little too crazy for some social settings, but you cannot fault the ingenuity behind each design. The tree tent, for example, is novel in a multitude of ways and is probably the main Studio Dré Wapenaar design that could actually become rather popular – especially with woodland campsites. And despite all the sculptural frills of their design, the principle behind them all is still as basic as camping itself… Visit Studio Dré Wapenaar for more details...

TENTVILLAGE-REVISITED, animation from dré wapenaar on Vimeo.