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Since they first landed at Black Rock City, the team behind Heartburst, imagined sharing their love for the built environment, community, and artistic expression with the Burning Man community. Heartburst offers those on the playa an invitation to pause, engage, and explore a more profound sense of connection with themselves and the world around them. Imagined for Burning Man Animalia, the spectacular art playfully harnesses the healing power of light and sound through a bamboo structure framing views of the vast dessert landscape. Its four heart-shaped entranceways and shared internal intersections embody the power of diversity and promote coming together. At its core, Heartburst is about radical inclusion, a space for people to gather on the playa, find respite, and celebrate a grounding moment.
Sensitive to the environmental footprint of building temporary structures on the Playa, Heartburst playfully harnesses the healing power of light and sound through a bamboo structure framing views of the vast landscape of deep playa. The spectacular art encourages visitors to slow down, be present in their surroundings, and achieve a state of mindfulness. In addition to its sustainable nature, bamboo enhances the grounding experience of Heartburst, furthering human understanding of materiality in the built environment. The celebration of natural material offers a calming and centering effect, one which promotes a deeper connection to the natural world and a greater sense of stability. Its four heart-shaped entranceways and shared internal intersections embody the power of diversity and promote coming together.
Stronger than steel compared to its weight, bamboo is one of the most sustainable and fastest-growing materials available. Heartburst advances environmental responsibility of temporary structures on the playa, while demonstrating the possibility of creating stunning spatial experiences. The team saw Heartburst as an opportunity to explore the material’s potential first-hand, and bring more awareness to its role in a more sustainable built environment. Even the most conservative calculations, inclusive of the shipment of the bamboo from Malaysia to Los Angeles, the structure’s carbon sink is still negative -7.5 metric tons of CO2 footprint. This is equivalent to a US household carbon footprint for a year, making this sculpture beyond net zero construction and into a “net-negative” build.
Heartburst acts as a physical reminder of the power of universal love and inclusiveness and be an opportunity to welcome diversity and the unexpected. Through Heartburst, people are invited to explore a more profound sense of connection with themselves and the world around them, fostering a more sustainable and harmonious relationship with nature and humankind. Heartburst was constructed from approximately 884 bamboo poles with 1570 individual connection points categorized through 3 systems for installation. Each gridline is made up of up to 6 prefabricated panel sections that fit inside standard 26 ft box trucks. Prior to build week, the team constructed 70 components including 58 prefabricated panels before finishing the structure during build week on the playa. Designed for accidental climbing, Heartburst also needed to withstand wind gusts of 75 mph. The design used bolted connections and metal wire lashings using standard rebar wire tying tools and helical earth anchors that were stabilized by diagonal aircraft cables and turn buckles. The earth anchors used to hold the structure in place were each 16x48inch, drilled into the playa by hand. Within the project, festival goers rode their bikes through, practiced yoga in, and danced the night away. The project even served as a romantic venue when four couples were married within the project. Despite heavy rain and muddy terrain, Heartburst withstood the severe weather and was a beacon of tranquility after the dust had settled.
“Sunrise and sunset on the playa, how people gather and celebrate that time, was something we really wanted to capture with Heartburst. We wanted to ensure how this building is experienced and what it feels like throughout that day, and at those key moments reflected the playa. For us, wanting to share that and make sure that this has its own presence both at night and during the day was crucial. This is the purest example of creative expression that I have ever been part of." -Ben Anderson
OFFICEUNTITLED is a young, energetic architecture and design firm focused on creative solutions across multiple scales and typologies, including commercial, hospitality, residential, and mixed-use. Established in 2017 as (OU) OFFICEUNTITLED, the practice leverages the award-winning design and project leadership of its four principals and a broad portfolio of experience in transformative architecture and interiors projects. OFFICEUNTITLED sees the value in every project as an opportunity for transformation and impact. The firm is currently designing more than 5.5 million square feet of property, including The Cayton Children’s Museum in Santa Monica, offices for BCG-Digital Ventures in London, The AVA Arts District in Los Angeles, and a masterplan for Summit Powder Mountain in Utah.
