Silver Lake Gets an Igloo
With global warming so topical these days, it’s fitting that non-profit research center Materials & Applications (M&A) offers a new outdoor installation in the form of an igloo. Tucked between boutiques and buildings along Silver Lake Blvd., the igloo is made not by ice and snow, but by bamboo and industrial felt. Titled Igloo/Ukendt, the structure was created by Danish artist Anja Franke, architect John Southern and lead fabricator Nick Blake. The team yearned to construct a cold weather building with techniques and warm climate materials appropriate to Southern California. Igloo/Ukendt mixes themes of tropical and arctic, hot and cold, showing us the times are a-changing with our climate.
Run by Jenna Didier and Oliver Hess, M&A is dedicated to “pushing new and underused ideas for art, landscape and architecture into view.” Their installations and programs are funded by donations and support from sponsors. M&A welcomes guests to visit the space, hoping to inspire interaction in a built environment and for us to take in new surroundings.
It’s not a huge structure and you could easily miss it driving by in your car. A water fountain drowns out the traffic on the street and a posted sign requests visitors to use the intercom. When I tried, it just rang and rang with no answer. Despite the sign’s explanation of wanting people to experience the structure, I still felt a little wary of just walking in.
On a hot day, it makes a nice respite from the blazing LA sun. In the cold rain we’ve been having lately, it offers some shelter and warmth. When the sun goes down, the igloo is softly illuminated by a smattering of small lights planted into its base. This is a perfect make-out spot if I ever saw one.
Located just down the road from Spaceland at 1619 Silver Lake Blvd, this outdoor exhibition space is open 24 hours a day, every day, and free to the public.
Photos by An Tran