Pneu, 2017
Design TO

Founding members Emily and Dominique worked with a team of collaborators at Toronto Metropolitan University  to design and fabricate Pneu, an inflatable installation commissioned by DesignTO for their 2017 Opening Night Launch Party. This project was our first collaborative venture in inflatable design, and the informal beginnings of Studio Rat’s current practice.

Pneu was a collaborative project credited to Emily and Dominique and is not a part of Studio Rat’s formal portfolio scope. The project was run through Toronto Metropolitan University’s Design Fabrication Zone with the mentorship of Jonathan Anderson and Vincent Hui.

Designed and fabricated by Emily Allan, Dominique Di Libero, 
Kelly Walcroft, Garbo Zhu, Gloria Zhou, Rutuja Atre.


Photography by Rajeshta Julatum.
Holy Trinity Church
Toronto, ON

Pneu was developed through experimental form-finding and DIY fabrication methods that echo inflatable theory and ideals. Our naivete and novel appreciation for inflatable architecture motivated an creative approach that was completely self-taught.

Playing with iridescence and transparency, the contrasting polyethylene and mylar materiality creates a surreal spatial experience. Partygoers loop through a breathing threshold that is blanketed in variations of colour, light, and opacity. Pneu’s central focal point - a reflective mylar column - strategically conceals the fan powering the inflatable whilst cascading light throughout the space with the ebb and flow of air.

Made with clear polyethylene sheeting, mylar sheeting, tape, air. 20’ x 30’ x  20’



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