Arktura Fights HIV/AIDS at DIFFA’s 20th Annual Dining by Design

Arktura Blends Art, Design, Engineering, and Social Consciousness at DIFFA’s 2017 Dining by Design

Arktura is proud to have been a part of DIFFA’s (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) 20th Annual Dining by Design in New York City. This exhibition, on view across 5 days, March 16 to March 20th, at NYC’s Pier 92, showcased artfully produced, extravagant, message-heavy dining environments. All were designed to inspire thought and raise awareness of the plight of HIV/AIDS. Arktura collaborated with Perkins + Will, Steelcase, Coalesse, Designtex, and Empire Office, on a kinetic piece, heavy on symbolism, aptly entitled “(re)action.” Its pulley systems represent the effort required to fight HIV/AIDS, and 1 of 8 counterweights on each side also glow red, symbolic of the 1 in 8 infected who are unaware they are living with the condition.

Though the installation is best experienced in person, due to its interactive nature, the following video from photographer and videographer Nick Nelson does an excellent job of capturing its presence and impact at the show:

In the lead-up to the show’s open, our collaborators and our very own Director of Engineering, Ravi Gupta, also took part in a Facebook Live stream, explaining some of the design and engineering challenges involved in creating the piece. You can catch that video here below, via Architizer. Learn about our kinetic installation starting about 6 minutes in, with words from Ravi Gupta around the 8 minute mark:

More relevant links:

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See this work featured in Architectural Digest