venice architecture biennale 08: japanese pavilion

the exterior garden and greenhouses at the japanese pavilion
image © designboom

while at the venice architecture biennale 08, designboom also visited the japanese pavilion, designed by
junya ishigami. because it is impossible to show actual buildings at the biennale, ishigami has found an alternative
format to showing architectural forms by creating an installation which has a parasitical relationship to the
pavilion’s existing structure. he has constructed ‘buildings’ at a 1:1 scale, which have been designed with precise
structural calculations, just barely able to stand. the installation suggests the future possibilities of architecture,
which for ishigami is comprised of delicate greenhouses which have ephemeral physical presence that blends
into their surrounding environment. ishigami’s greenhouses are not equipped with air control systems, nor are they
sealed off from the outside by a barrier, reducing the feel of an artificial environment. the weakness of the plant
barriers result in an ambiguous mixing of elements from the internal and external environment. with the help of
botanist hideaki ohba, ishigami aims to present a selection of plant life which creates a slight disturbance in the
landscape of the park. at first the landscape seems quite ordinary, but it is this belief that this is an extremely
progressive approach to an environment.

upon entering the interior, the japanese pavilion appears almost empty thus revealing the beauty of the
original space. the greenhouses which ishigami have constructed are dispersed amongst the pavilion’s exterior
using furniture and plants to create the atmosphere of an interior landscape. the overall architecture of the space
is not given any definite qualities of a physical object, blurring the boundaries between the interior and exterior,
making the japanese pavilion appear as if it is an artificial environment or an element of topography. it was
ishigami’s goal to consider both architecture and landscape on the same level, using plants to create an
environment which is comparable in scale to that of the built environment. he has tried to marry nature and
architecture with each other to the point that the two seem almost indistinguishable so that everything internally
and externally exists simultaneously.

wooden furniture adorns the garden creating the feeling of an interior space outdoors
image © designboom