NEOCON Chicago | 2016 | Temporary Installation

A responsive installation to Archeworks’ Wasted Market research, SOFTCORE is hard on the outside, soft on the inside. It’s architecture is conceived using the analogy of a landfill, where a mass of waste is covered by a crust of turf.

Built from materials harvested from completed construction projects and manufacturers’ surpluses, the distinct exterior character and interior environment of SOFTCORE reveals the robust qualities of wasted or hidden resources. Clad with OSB sheathing, the white monolithic receptacle is an 11’ wide x 11’ high x 7’ deep volume, equal to the amount of construction and demolition waste generated every minute in the United States. This solid mass is “cored” to create a place to retreat and recharge within the energetic NeoCon convention floor. Like a geological excavation, the interior space is lined with strata of carpet tile and carpet padding, materials that abate the sound while providing a vibrant and supple surface treatment.

SOFTCORE points toward ways that materials originally planned for obsolescence can be retroactively imbued with new value through acts of design.

Softcore is a collaboration with Archeworks, Land, and the Fay Jones School of Architecture

Photography by Dominic Gallegos