The Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale has been filled with inflatable cellular structures that slowly expand and contract in response to changing environmental conditions. Curated by Eero Lundén and Juulia Kauste Another Generosity explores the relationship between nature and the built environment. The goal is to explore new ways of making buildings that emphasize the delicate but often invisible interactions between the built and natural worlds.
The Nordic Pavilion, designed by Sverre Fehn in 1962, celebrates nature’s different phenomena: light, sound, materials bringing them together to form a unique architectural experience. The 2018 installation in the Nordic pavilion was built on the context created by Fehn and ask how we see ourselves in relation to nature today.
Eero has installed four huge inflatables – designed to look like cells – inside the pavilion, with sensors that monitor the surrounding carbon-dioxide levels, humidity and temperature. The cells “breathe” in response to these environmental conditions. They either fill or empty themselves of air, depending on the carbon-dioxide levels, and change colour to indicate temperature differences.
“With today’s mounting environmental challenges, we have the responsibility to restore the balance between the built and natural environment,” says Eero Lundén. “Architecture as our most fundamental technology needs to be reinvented and, as architects, we must consider who or what we are building for. What is the worldview behind the buildings we create?”
“Eero is part of an exciting new generation of Finnish architects with the ambition to question the fundamental role of architecture in the 21st century,” said Juulia Kauste, director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture. “I am confident he will bring a freshness and intellectual depth to his project, and create an unforgettable experience for biennale visitors.”
The Venice Architecture Biennale 2018 will runs until 25 November 2018.