Perimeter Field: From Temporary Architecture to a Living Research Platform
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An exploration of how temporary architecture can become a platform for human-building interaction, landscape activation and Research through Design.
Written by Matteo Borsetti @MBA architects
Can architecture become a research instrument rather than simply a designed object?
Buildings are often evaluated only by their form, function or performance. Yet architecture can also generate knowledge. It can become a medium through which we observe how people perceive space, move through it, interact with one another and engage with the surrounding landscape.
Perimeter Field emerged from this question.
The project did not begin as an academic research programme. It began with a simple ambition: to build a real architectural prototype capable of transforming an ordinary landscape into an immersive spatial experience.
Over the past year, my primary objective has been to design, construct and test the first full-scale prototype.
I deliberately focused on demonstrating that the concept could exist physically rather than remain an unbuilt proposal. Only through construction did it become possible to understand its potential—and, equally importantly, the questions it raises.
Today, I see the completed prototype not as the conclusion of the project, but as its true beginning.
The next challenge is no longer how to build the prototype, but how to understand what happens when people inhabit it. How do they move through it? How does the sequence of spaces influence perception? Can a lightweight temporary structure activate a landscape and encourage new forms of interaction between people and place?
These are questions that cannot be answered through design alone. They require observation, documentation and interdisciplinary methods capable of investigating human experience in space. For this reason, Perimeter Field is evolving from an architectural prototype into a living research platform, where design, construction and human experience become part of the same investigative process.
From Professional Practice to Research
For more than two decades, my professional work has focused on temporary architecture—designing exhibition stands, pavilions and event structures across Europe. These projects are typically conceived to meet practical requirements: they must be lightweight, rapidly assembled, adaptable and reusable.
Although temporary architecture is often associated with commercial or short-lived events, I have always been fascinated by its broader architectural potential. Unlike permanent buildings, temporary structures can be deployed quickly, adapted to different contexts and removed without permanently altering the landscape. This flexibility makes them ideal platforms for experimentation.
Over time, my interest gradually shifted from solving technical and logistical problems towards a more fundamental question: could these lightweight systems become instruments for exploring human experience rather than simply hosting activities?
This question marked the beginning of Perimeter Field.
Rather than designing another temporary installation, I wanted to create an environment where architecture itself could become the subject of investigation. The objective was not to produce a finished object, but to establish the conditions for observation, interaction and future research.
The prototype therefore represents only the first stage of a much broader process. It demonstrates the feasibility of the architectural system while opening new questions about spatial perception, human behaviour and the relationship between people and landscape.
To explore these questions, it was first necessary to design and build a full-scale architectural prototype capable of testing the concept in a real environment. Only once the prototype had been realised could the research move towards observing, documenting and analysing how people experience the space.
The resulting prototype should therefore be understood not as the final outcome of the project, but as the research instrument from which the investigation begins.
The Physical Prototype
The first full-scale prototype of Perimeter Field was conceived as both an architectural intervention and a research instrument. Rather than producing a finished object, its purpose was to create a physical environment capable of testing how lightweight spatial structures influence human perception, movement and interaction within the landscape.
The construction system is based on a series of modular aluminium frames supporting a lightweight translucent woven membrane. Instead of defining enclosed rooms, each module acts as a permeable spatial boundary, allowing light, air and visual connections to pass through while subtly guiding movement and shaping the visitor's spatial experience.
One of the defining characteristics of the prototype is the reuse of existing industrial components. The aluminium frames were recovered from photovoltaic panels that had become unusable after being damaged by a severe hailstorm. Rather than discarding these elements, the damaged photovoltaic module was dismantled, retaining its aluminium frame, which was then fitted with a lightweight woven membrane. Transforming an obsolete industrial product into a new architectural component.
This transformation was not simply an environmental choice. It reflects one of the central ideas behind Perimeter Field: architecture can generate new spatial experiences not only through new materials, but also through the intelligent reinterpretation of existing ones. The project therefore combines temporary architecture, adaptive reuse and material circularity within a single construction system.
The decision to employ a lightweight and fully reversible construction method also responds to the relationship between architecture and landscape. Because the installation can be assembled, dismantled and transported without permanent foundations or irreversible interventions, it establishes only a temporary presence within its surroundings. The landscape is not modified or replaced; instead, it is temporarily reinterpreted through a sequence of architectural boundaries.
The modular nature of the system allows the same components to generate multiple spatial configurations. Linear paths, enclosed courtyards, open fields and more complex arrangements can all be created by recombining identical elements. Rather than producing a fixed composition, the prototype behaves as an adaptable spatial system capable of responding to different sites and research scenarios.
Equally important is the role of the translucent membrane. Instead of separating inside from outside, it filters light, silhouettes and movement, creating constantly changing relationships between visibility and concealment. Visitors remain visually connected to the surrounding landscape while simultaneously experiencing a sequence of spaces that alters their perception of distance, orientation and enclosure.
For this reason, the prototype should not be understood simply as a construction system or a temporary installation. It is an architectural device designed to support future research, providing a physical platform through which the relationship between people, space and landscape can be observed, documented and analysed.
The Digital Prototype
The full-scale prototype of Perimeter Field has already been designed and physically constructed. At the time of writing, however, the installation has not yet been fully documented through professional video footage in its final configuration.
For this reason, a digital animation was developed using Rhino and Twinmotion to communicate the architectural concept and the intended spatial experience. Rather than replacing the physical prototype, the animation complements it by illustrating how the modular system can be assembled into different configurations and experienced within the landscape.
Developed directly from the digital model used during the design process, the animation explores spatial sequences, lighting conditions, the immersive soundscape and visitor movement, providing a visual interpretation of the project's architectural intentions while complete photographic and video documentation of the built installation is still in progress.
▶ Watch the Digital Visualisation:
Activating the Landscape
Architecture does not exist in isolation. Every space is defined not only by its physical boundaries but also by the environmental conditions that surround it. Light changes throughout the day, vegetation grows and moves with the wind, sounds evolve over time, and the presence of people continuously reshapes the perception of place.
Perimeter Field was conceived with this understanding. Rather than occupying the landscape, the installation seeks to activate it.
The project deliberately avoids creating enclosed spaces or permanent architectural objects. Instead, it introduces a sequence of lightweight spatial boundaries that encourage visitors to experience the existing landscape in new ways. Walking through the installation becomes a gradual process of discovery, where architecture frames rather than dominates the environment.
The translucent membranes, the illuminated bottles marking the path, the changing light conditions and the surrounding natural elements work together to create an immersive experience in which architecture and landscape become inseparable. Rather than separating visitors from nature, the installation encourages a continuous dialogue between built elements and the environment.
This relationship extends beyond visual perception. Natural sounds, changing weather conditions, seasonal vegetation and the movement of other visitors all become active components of the spatial experience. The installation therefore behaves less like a static architectural object and more like a dynamic framework whose character continuously evolves according to environmental conditions.
For this reason, the landscape should not be understood as the setting for Perimeter Field. It is an integral part of the project itself. Without the landscape, the installation loses much of its meaning; without the architectural intervention, many qualities of the landscape remain unnoticed. The research therefore focuses not only on architecture, but on the temporary relationship established between people, sound, light, space and the natural environment.
In this sense, Perimeter Field does not seek to transform the landscape. Instead, it seeks to transform the way the landscape is perceived.
Future Research
The construction of the first full-scale prototype does not represent the conclusion of Perimeter Field; rather, it marks the beginning of its research phase.
Until now, the project has focused primarily on demonstrating the feasibility of the architectural system. The next stage shifts the emphasis from construction to observation, seeking to understand how people perceive, inhabit and interact with temporary architectural environments situated within natural landscapes.
Rather than evaluating the installation solely as a designed object, future research will investigate the relationships that emerge between people, space and landscape. How do visitors move through the installation? Which spatial configurations encourage exploration, pause or social interaction? How do light, sound, weather conditions and vegetation influence the overall experience? These questions extend beyond architecture itself, requiring methods drawn from environmental psychology, spatial analysis and human-centred design.
The intention is to transform Perimeter Field into an open research platform, where each installation becomes an opportunity to collect observations, compare different spatial configurations and progressively refine the architectural system through real-world testing.
Future studies may combine qualitative and quantitative methods, including direct observation, interviews, questionnaires, behavioural mapping and digital documentation. The objective is not simply to measure visitor behaviour, but to understand how temporary architecture can influence perception, encourage social interaction and strengthen the relationship between people and the natural environment.
As the project evolves, digital technologies—including artificial intelligence, computer vision and spatial analysis—may also contribute to documenting and interpreting patterns of movement and occupation. These tools are not intended to replace architectural observation but to complement it, providing new ways of analysing complex spatial behaviours that are often difficult to perceive through conventional methods alone.
Ultimately, Perimeter Field seeks to establish a long-term research programme in which design, construction, field experimentation and scientific observation become part of a continuous iterative process. Each new installation will not simply reproduce the previous one, but will generate new knowledge, informing subsequent architectural developments and expanding our understanding of how temporary environments can activate landscapes and shape human experience.
Research Questions
How can temporary architecture influence the perception of landscape?
How do different spatial configurations affect movement, orientation and social interaction?
Can lightweight and reversible architectural systems encourage new relationships between people and place?
How can adaptive reuse and circular construction systems contribute to sustainable temporary architecture?
In what ways can AI-assisted observation support the analysis of human behaviour within architectural environments?
Conclusions
Perimeter Field began as an exploration of temporary architecture and has gradually evolved into a broader research initiative centred on the relationship between people, space and landscape. The construction of the first full-scale prototype demonstrated the feasibility of the architectural system while revealing new questions that extend beyond design itself.
Rather than presenting architecture as a finished object, the project proposes architecture as a research instrument. The installation becomes a platform through which spatial perception, movement, social interaction and environmental conditions can be observed and better understood.
Its lightweight, modular and reversible construction system reflects principles of adaptive reuse and circular design, transforming discarded photovoltaic panels into a new architectural application. At the same time, its temporary nature allows the installation to be continuously reconfigured, tested and refined across different landscapes and contexts.
The future development of Perimeter Field will focus on field experimentation, combining architectural practice with interdisciplinary research methods to investigate how temporary environments influence human behaviour and our relationship with the natural environment. Each installation will contribute new observations, informing future design iterations and expanding the project's research potential.
Ultimately, Perimeter Field is not intended as a completed work, but as the beginning of an evolving research platform. It demonstrates how architectural practice can generate knowledge through making, observation and experimentation, positioning temporary architecture not only as a means of constructing space, but also as a tool for understanding it.
Architecture does not end when construction is completed. In Perimeter Field, construction marks the moment when research truly begins.
References and Further Reading:
Alexander, C. (1979). The Timeless Way of Building. Oxford University Press.
Araujo Armero, R. (2007). La Arquitectura como Técnica (1). Madrid: A.T.C. Ediciones, S.L.
Fatah gen Schieck, A., Briones, C., & Mottram, C. (2007). "A Sense of Place and Pervasive Computing within the Urban Landscape." Proceedings of the 6th International Space Syntax Symposium, Istanbul, Paper 133.
Fatah gen Schieck, A., Alavi, H. S., Zielinska-Dabkowska, K. M., Tajadura-Jiménez, A., Ward, J. A., & Bianchi-Berthouze, N. (2025). “Editorial: Re-imagining mediated human building interaction and sensory environments.” Frontiers in Computer Science, 7, 1603742.
Frampton, K. (2020). Modern Architecture: A Critical History (5th ed.). Thames & Hudson.
Gehl, J. (2011). Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space. Island Press.
Hall, E. T. (1966). The Hidden Dimension. Doubleday.
Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. MIT Press.
McCullough, M. (1996). Abstracting Craft: The Practiced Digital Hand. MIT Press.
Norberg-Schulz, C. (1980). Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture. Rizzoli.
Pallasmaa, J. (2012). The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses (3rd ed.). Wiley.
Prada Poole, J. M. de (1974). “La arquitectura perecedera de las pompas de jabón.” El Urogallo, no. 25,
January–February, 72–78.
Rapoport, A. (1982). The Meaning of the Built Environment. Sage Publications.
Schön, D. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner. Basic Books.
Whyte, W. H. (1980). The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Project for Public Spaces.
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Digital Tools
Rhinoceros 3D (Robert McNeel & Associates)
Twinmotion (Epic Games)
Adobe Photoshop
Kling AI 3.0 Omni – AI-assisted conceptual visualisation
ChatGPT (OpenAI) – editorial support and language refinement
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Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledges the support of Studiostand Ltd for providing the technical expertise, workshop facilities and professional environment that enabled the development and construction of the first full-scale prototype.
Special thanks to Thomas Berentes for his contribution to the development of the digital model, visualisations and Twinmotion animations, and to Ernesto Alamilla Cantoral (ERN:STO) for composing the immersive soundscape that forms an integral part of the spatial experience.
Perimeter Field represents the convergence of professional practice, architectural experimentation and academic research, and this project would not have been possible without the contribution of the people and organisations who supported its development.
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Epilogue
The following short film brings together the ideas explored throughout this article. While the full-scale prototype has already been constructed, this AI-assisted visualisation illustrates the project's architectural vision and future research ambitions.
▶ Watch the Concept Film
