NAi director ole bouman and inside outside founder petra blaisse have revealed ‘Re-set’ to the public in the giardini at the 13th international architecture exhibition in venice. curtains of varied opacities move through gerrit rietveld’s vacant structure on a ceiling-mounted dual track system, changing their position 12 times throughout the day. the installation gives a renewed life to the dutch modernist architect’s building. in existence for 58 years and vacant for 40, the national pavilion for the netherlands remains unused for a majority of the calendar year, only coming to life for the annual art and architecture biennales.
image © designboom | main image © rob ‘t hart, nederlands architectuurinstituut (NAi)
before the pavilion’s opening, petra blaisse met with designboom to discuss the intervention. attempting to change the perspective rehabilitation as conservative renovators, this transforms the structure’s experience rather than filling it with objects or starting anew. celebrating its qualities, the hourly changes create a new situation for visitors, giving wings to the old foundations and shell. see designboom’s coverage of curator ole bouman’s concept behind the design and connection to chipperfield’s common ground theme here.
image © designboom
image © rob ‘t hart, nederlands architectuurinstituut (NAi)
image © rob ‘t hart, nederlands architectuurinstituut (NAi)
image © rob ‘t hart, nederlands architectuurinstituut (NAi)
sequence of curtains during movement
image © designboom
image © designboom
image © designboom
image © designboom
detail of dual rail track system
image © designboom
petra blaisse of inside outside
portrait © designboom
petra blaisse discusses the design of the dutch pavilion with designboom before its unveiling to the public
video © designboom
video © su tomesen, nederlands architectuurinstituut (NAi)
curtains in motion
video © designboom
curtains in motion
video © designboom
credits:
exhibition: august 29 – november 25, 2012.
location: dutch pavilion in the giardini di castello, venice, italy
curator: ole bouman, director of the nai
design: petra blaisse with marieke van den heuvel, peter niessen, laura van santen and rabia zuberi
