At the 12th Architecture Exhibition of the Biennale, which will be held from 29 August – 21 November 2010 in Venice, Zumtobel is going to be involved in four projects. Taking place every two years, the Architecture Biennale in Venice is one of the most important and largest international exhibitions for architecture and urban development, consisting of an exhibition area of more than 20,000m².
This year’s Architecture Biennale will be curated by Kazuyo Sejima, under the heading of “People meet in architecture”. Apart from the exhibitions at the Arsenale, the main exhibition venue will be the country pavilions in the Giardini, where projects from more than 30 nations will be presented.
Zumtobel has traditionally been present at this high-calibre event for many years, emphasising the importance the Austrian organisation attaches to addressing the topics of light, architecture and art. In collaboration with artists, Zumtobel has made it a habit to reach for the limits of what is feasible.
This year, Zumtobel is going to support four projects: at the Arsenale, Francois Roche will present parts of his concept study “The building which never dies” – a nocturnal observatory pivoting on itself. This laboratory is aimed at the moon when it is above the horizon, to take advantage of moonlight (never less than one lux) and even amplify it. Francois Roche has used the findings from the project study on “The building which never dies” as an inspiration for developing a masterpiece for Zumtobel. Phosphorescent components provide information on solar activity and its degree of dangerousness. The components‘ afterglow acts as a detector, an architectural marker of the mutation of our environment, and reflects the occurrence of UV-related human pathologies. At the Biennale, the masterpiece will be presented to the public for the first time.
With their “Desire” concept, the curators in the German pavilion are going to reveal the emotional, intimate and sensuous aspects of architecture. Based on the traditional setting of a salon of the timeless, golden classical period, a three dimensional portrait of contemporary German architecture is presented between the poles of historical designs and contemporary buildings. Zumtobel is supporting the work of Austrian lighting artist Siegrun Appelt. An LED lighting picture by the artist, with individually programmed colour sequences in lush red tones, is going to highlight the German pavilion’s emotional concept with an interplay of colours. Zumtobel is providing a custom lighting installation based on Cielos Move LED luminaires including a control system.
At the Giardini, the Raumlabor architecture cooperative will present the “Kitchen Monument”. This mobile sculpture exists in two states: a sculpture clad in zinc sheet and a pneumatic room shell, which serves as an extension of the sculpture into public space to provide a tool for creating temporary communities. It redefines space, creating new visual relationships between inside and outside.
In the centre of Venice, visitors‘ attention will be attracted by a Starbrick installation by Olafur Eliasson. The installation, set up on Via Garibaldi, consists of several Starbrick modules. The Starbrick has emerged from a project of Olafur Eliasson in collaboration with Zumtobel. Approx. 50cm x 50cm x 50 cm in size, the module can be arranged as an individual component or as a configuration of several modules to create a luminous object of art.