Design Studio Inside Outside Creates Stunning Stage Curtain For Saudi’s Ithra

Developing a three-dimensional stage curtain for the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dhahran, Amsterdam-based studio Inside Outside plays with the thematics of spectacle and the spatial power of fabric

Sought out by Aramco, Inside Outside was commissioned to create a public art piece that would symbolise the transformational change of the Kingdom for the auditorium of the ambitious King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture.

In response, the studio utilised faux leather and velour to construct ‘XYZ’, a curtain that features a panned-out, rock-like geometric textile sculpture hanging above the main stage for the cultural centre.

Installation views of the stage curtain XYZ made for the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dhahran by Inside Outside

Created in partnership with Dutch engineering firm Arup and Octatube, against the dramatic and sweeping velour, the studio utilised multiple folded planes of golden faux leather, which were created through a thin steel beam and cable tensegrity structure.

Capturing the liminal moment between day and night, the lightweight, geometrical structure projects various shades of colour across different stage lighting and times of the day. “The moving lighting on both sides reinforces the depth of this design,” points out Petra Blaisse, Inside Outside’s Founder. It also acts as a striking frame to the events below, while recalling and displaying the mechanics behind theatre.

Installation views of the stage curtain XYZ made for the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dhahran by Inside Outside

Founded in 1991, Inside Outside has long been revered for changing the understanding of curtains from an afterthought to a central architectural force, highlighting its decisive role in the experience of space.

As the studio’s name suggests, Inside Outside aims to collapse interiors and exteriors, integrating often custom-made textiles into various forms of interior design, landscape design and architecture. “Our work is traditionally site-specific and one-off, each time taking the given architectural, cultural and programmatic situation into account,” Blaisse explains.

With XYZ’s staggering scale and illusionistic use of folding, the piece easily constructs a sublime and immersive environment, demonstrating Blaisse’s capability of making materials perform. 

Image Courtesy of Frans Parthesius, Cieran Murphy, and Inside Outside

From the Autumn 2020 Issue of Harper’s Bazaar Interiors