venice architecture biennale 08 preview: greg lynn

following its current run at the SCI-arc gallery in los angeles, greg lynn’s ‘blobwall pavillion’ will be presented at this year’s venice architecture biennale as part of the exhibition ‘out there: architecture beyond building’. covering over 6,000 square meters, the venice biennale is the largest architecture exhibition in the world. the 11th international architecture exhibition will take place from september 14th – november 23rd 2008 across the city’s arsenale and giardini exhibition venues.

blobwall pavilion is a collaboration between greg lynn form, machineous who developed the manufacturing method for the ‘bricks’ and panelite who produced and distributed the architectural material. it is an innovative redefinition of the brick – architecture’s most basic building unit – into a lightweight object made of colorful plastic and reinterpreted into modular elements. blobwall pavilion is a freestanding, indoor/outdoor wall system built of a low-density, recyclable, impact-resistant polymer. the blob unit, or ‘brick,’ is a robotically cut mass-produced hollow tri-lobed shape formed through rotational molding, which is then assembled with interlocking precision to form the wall.

the blobwall pavilion is a contemporary wall system that recovers the voluptuous shapes, chiaroscuro and grotto-like textures of baroque and renaissance architecture in pixilated gradients of vivid color. on three walls of the installation, custom fabricated acrylic bubble cabinets will be installed to display small objects.

though blobwall pavilion is designed in stock shapes totaling over 500 individual bricks in ten different colors, it can also be configured to custom shapes and color combinations. the varied yellow hues composing the body of the installation in the sci-arc gallery celebrate the material qualities and colors of the roto-molded plastic and are arrayed as if bathed in a warm light so the highlights are not white, but instead crimson, plum and pink.

the images featured here are from the ‘blobwall pavillion blog’ that SCI-arc gallery have put-together as part of their current exhibition which will end july 13th 2008.

greg lynn form: http://www.glform.com blobwall pavillion blog: http://blobwallpavillion.wordpress.com SCI-arc gallery in los angeles: http://www.sciarc.edu/exhibition.php