Ball-Nogues Studio has created an experimental installation for the Coachella festival using a unique production process and reclaimed paper.

The Los Angeles-based design and fabrication practice said the installation, Pulp Pavilion, served as a bold and colourful canopy space and respite from the sun. Performances on two stages at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held annually in the California desert, could also be viewed.

The studio’s production process involves a blend of recycled paper (pulp), water and pigment sprayed onto a three dimensionally woven lattice of natural rope, hardening into a rigid, self-supporting matrix that Ball-Nogues says is much lighter than materials of comparable strength.

According to Ball-Nogues, no additional materials were employed except for minimal “tree-to-tree” connections and seating. Pulp Pavilion differs from more traditional installations in that it can be recycled or composted after the conclusion of the two-week festival. The paper used was diverted from a waste stream and is cheaply available almost anywhere in the world.

In the evenings, coloured lighting illuminated the surface of the installation and a contrasting colour emitted from within the columns, with a custom program controlling the 28 integrated fixtures.

Ball-Nogues said its construction system could be cheaply applied to a range of temporary buildings, and might even be applicable to permanent structures “with development”.

Three architecture students from London’s University of Westminster WeWantToLearn.net postgraduate design studio also recently proposed experimental installations for a festival, this time Burning Man, held at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The studio is known for its study of parametric systems, which are based on algorithms.