“Pneumacosm is your very own living planet, made of plastic and functioning like an electric light bulb. Plug it into the sockets of existing urban frameworks and appreciate life in three dimensions, immersed in the surrounding environment. Thousands and thousands of Pneumacosms are shaping a new urban landscape.” (Haus-Rucker-Co)
Imagined by Günter Zamp Kelp and Manfred Ortner as the Haus-Rucker-Co group’s manifesto and founding project, Pneumacosm, “the respiration of the cosmos,” is a housing unit made of inflatable plastic that functions like a light bulb within a vertical urban structure. When this unit is “plugged” into the building’s façade, it is ready to be turned on. The unit is accessed via corridors added to the building while the interior of the sphere is divided into a common area and several smaller spaces designed to house various functions. These small functional units can be chosen individually prior to installation on the vertical structure. The internal organization of the sphere allows each occupant the possibility of a private space in a smaller pod, or shared social life in the larger common area. The Pneumacosm is a transparent skin that extends the mass of architecture into the city, looking like a sort of helmet. This beating electric heart enables the city, this infinitely expanding and oppressive megalopolis, to continue the breakneck pace of its growth.
