Paige Kodesh

UNSW
Australia

From the entrant’s submission:

How do we have fun in a pandemic? Can we still enjoy social events together, while. separated? Isoland is an adaptable and global solution that seeks to answer these questions amid the collective experience of isolation during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Rather than forgoing social activities, Isoland proposes a series of ‘attractions’ that celebrate the banality of life we may take for granted. The result is a theme park consisting of six common spaces for social gathering which have been compromised during global lockdown measures. Blending satire with functionality, Isoland re-imagines the familiarities and nostalgia of life before lockdown.

With Coronavirus taking force as a global experience, Isoland can become a real-world project, seeking to re-imagine, re-invent and re-interpret public space in a matter that targets necessary human interaction with social distancing forefront. Buildings mimic traditional uses, however they have been redesigned using wit and diligent measures to accommodate 1.5 metre distancing at all times. These buildings can be easily constructed and utilised all over the world in a manner which mimics the banality of assembling products from IKEA. For example, the pool’s design replicates the typical Olympic pool, only here, each lane is separated and amenities are designed as individual units involving a shower, toilet, and a single lift to a diving platform.

Isoland poses basic human questions which analyse the value of social interaction and the effect of isolation, particularly during a pandemic. The solutions are left to global leaders, who can ‘purchase’ Isoland and reproduce it due to its IKEA-like assembly instructions.

The project features investigations on the new normal of collective gatherings and proposes innovative modes of sharing experiences or social interactions through architecture and folly.