Rafael de Cárdenas Plays With Perspectives at Cadillac House

Surface & Panel -

by Ryan Waddoups

Architecture at Large principal Rafael de Cárdenas is inviting New Yorkers to get lost inside Amaze, a labyrinthine pop-up installation at Cadillac House until June 10. Presented by art and fashion publication Visionaire, Amaze calls domestic life into question via whimsical environments where mundane meets fantastical. One room centers on a cylindrical void, demarcated by metal mesh that shimmers underneath a fan. Another brings guests down a luminous hall of mirrors that mimics residential building corridors. Everyday motifs such as sconce lighting and potted daffodils are scattered throughout. And hypnotic black-and-white wall patterns riff on the firm’s use of color for the Wynwood Building’s facade, completed by Architecture at Large in 2011. Amaze ventures far beyond spatial distortion and pattern play, however—artist Sahra Motalebi composed a sound score of hysterical shrieks and laughter that buzzes from overhead, further stimulating the senses.

Cadillac House, which recently hosted Lunar Garden by Snarkitecture founder and visual artist Daniel Arsham, is located at 330 Hudson Street in New York.

Sconce lighting punctuates the hall of mirrors. Photography by Plamen Petkov.
Yellow plexiglass imitates a mirror. Photography by Plamen Petkov.
Colors and patterns are layered throughout. Photography by Plamen Petkov.
LEDs brighten Color Study rooms. Photography by Plamen Petkov.
Metal mesh surrounds a spherical hanging pendant. Photography by Plamen Petkov.
Black-and-white patterns reference the firm’s early use of color. Photography by Plamen Petkov.
Illusory zigzagging paths appear inside the hall of mirrors. Photography by Plamen Petkov.