shift A+U reinterprets bernard tschumi's groningen gallery as CMY pavilion

shift A+U reinterprets bernard tschumi’s groningen gallery as CMY pavilion
all images courtesy of rené de wit & shift architecture urbanism

in 1990, the city of groningen held a city-wide exhibition called ‘what a wonderful world’. scattered throughout the metropolis, five pavilions brought pop music to the mainstream public realm. created for long term installation, the pavilions were made by the architectural avant-garde of the time, including: peter eisenman, zaha hadid, coophimmelb(l)au, rem koolhaas, and bernard tschumi.

tilted form 

of the five, only the latter two remain. OMA’s programmatic creation’s success is due to its pairing with a bus stop, making it equally as usable today as it was 25 years ago. tschumi’s work persisted for its complete lack of any program. essentially a transparent, glass envelope, the pavilion has stayed relevant through continuous public events, art projects, and exhibitions.

originally, tschumi chose glass for its ability to create unstable façades. as videos were played on the transparent surfaces, they transformed the space into an illusive spectacle in which images were constantly being altered by reflections, positions, and the moving city beyond its walls. in keeping with the concept, shift architecture urbanism reinterpreted the space into the ‘CMY pavilion’.

view from adjacent bus stop 

using translucent colored film — cyan, magenta, yellow — the pavilion becomes a three dimensional graphic that changes as visitors move through and around. because of the films’ opacities, bands of primaries meld together to create secondary ‘virtual’ colors. cyan and magenta form blue, yellow and cyan – green, and magenta and cyan – red.

façade and steps 

people circulating the surrounding roundabout experience shifting colors and patterns. standing directly facing the façade, spectators are able to perceive six colors (CMYRGB). internally, colors instead mix with the city, and the palette remains in its three-color layout. the films are wrapped diagonally around the structure to enhance the destabilized, gyrated effect that tschumi created through tilting the building. 

three colors are visible inside the walkway 

diagonal color bands enhance the destabilizing, gyrating effect that tschumi intended by tilting the building

exterior 

night view 

original design, by bernard tschumi 

‘CMY pavilion’ and surroundings 

plan fold out 

axonometric 

project info:

address: hereplein, groningen, the netherlands
client: stichting tschumi pavilion, municipality of groningen
design: shift architecture urbanism, Rotterdam
project architects: thijs van bijsterveldt, oana rades, harm timmermans
color film: sign up, groningen
lighting: lichtpunt theatertechniek, groningen

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: nick brink | designboom