one to one
DESCRIPTION
One to One - A project by University of Queensland architects being showcased at the Venice Biennale 2012.TRANSCRIPT
La Biennale di VeneziaThe 13th International Architecture Exhibition Common Ground29th August–25th November 2012
Anupama Kundoo : Wall House 1 : 1A Proposal for the Arsenale
Architecture in full scale.Celebrating the ‘hand’.Emphasizing material, technology, and sustainability.
The University of QueenslandSchool of ArchitectureBrisbane, Australia
Background Information
The Venice Biennale has for over a century been one of the foremost prestigious cultural institutions in the world.Ever since its founding 1895, it has been at the forefront of research and the promotion of new artistic and culturaltrends.
History The Venice Biennale, originally a fine arts exhibi-tion, dates back from 1895. In the 1930s the programme extended to include music, cinema, and theatre. It was notuntil 1980 that the first International Architecture Exhibi-tion took place. Since then, the Biennale has cemented itspresence as an influential protagonist within internationalarchitectural debate; with the ability to draw some of themost renowned and high profile exhibitors to Venice. This year’s contributors include a worldwide selection ofcontemporary Architecture offices:
Theme 2012 “Common Ground”
Artistic Direction The artistic director is appointed by the Biennale Board of Administration based on life-timeachievement and contributions to the field of architecture.Past directors include seminal figures such as Kazuyo Sejima, Aaron Betsky and Aldo Rossi. This year’s artisticdirector is multi-award winning architect Sir David Chipperfield.
Venue This year’s International Architecture Exhibitionwill take place in the historical Biennale venues of the Giardini and the Arsenale di Venezia.
The Arsenale The Arsenale complex is the physical rem-nants of the largest pre-industrial production centre in the world. It is therefore a historically significant locationwithin the city of Venice. Accordingly, the Corderie build-ing, situated within the heart of the Arsenale, is the allotedspace in which David Chipperfield will curate a selectnumber of works conforming to the theme of CommonGround.
The Giardini The International Architecture exhibitionwill be shown also at the Giardini, mainly in the CentralPavilion. These gardens in the east of Venice have been the traditional venue for the International Art Exhibitionsince 1895. They were laid out during the Napoleonic era,on land that had once been occupied by a district that in-cluded four churches and three convents. The area hoststhe Central Pavilion and a further 29 national pavilions,built at various periods by the participating countries them-selves. Several pavilions in the Gardens were designed and built by famous architects.
National participations The 13th International Architec-ture Exhibition of the Biennale di Venezia will also present,as is traditional, the National Participations with their own exhibitions in the Pavilions at the Giardini and at the Arsenale, and in the historic city centre of Venice. In the2010 exhibition, 52 Foreign Countries were represented in Venice Biennale.
Collateral Events The Architecture Biennale will also in-clude selected Collateral Events, presented by internationalentities and institutions, which will present their exhibi-tions and initiatives in Venice concurrently with the 13thExhibition.
Selection process Participation in the International exhibi-tion is upon invitation by the Artistic Director only, and istherefore highly prestigious.
29th August–25th November 2012
In David Chipperfield’s own words
“I want this Biennale to celebrate a vital, interconnected architectural culture, and pose questions about the intellec-tual and physical territories that it shares. In the methods of selection of participants, my Biennale will encourage thecollaboration and dialogue that I believe is at the heart of architecture, and the title will also serve as a metaphor for architecture’s field of activity.
I am interested in the things that architects share in com-mon, from the conditions of the practice of architecture to the influences, collaborations, histories and affinities thatframe and contextualise our work. I want to take the oppor-tunity of the Biennale to reinforce our understanding of architectural culture, and to emphasise the philosophical and practical continuities that define it.
The title Common Ground also has a strong connotation of the ground between buildings, the spaces of the city. I want projects in the Biennale to look seriously at the mean-ings of the spaces made by buildings: the political, social, and public realms of which architecture is a part. I do notwant to lose the subject of architecture in a morass of socio-logical, psychological or artistic speculation, but to try to develop the understanding of the distinct contribution thatarchitecture can make in defining the common ground of the city...”
The Wall House in Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India, 1996
Situated in Auroville, an emerging city in the Tamil Nadu region of India, theWall House can be described as a test-ing ground for technological and spatialinnovation. Notably, whilst almost everyexploration in the Wall House has peri-odically occurred to inform other proj-ects by Kundoo; the end result is awidely acknowledged piece of architec-ture placed harmoniously within a dra-matic landscape setting.
Spatially, the innovation lies in the re-definition of borders and transitionalspaces in which a keen responsivenessto the conditions of local climate andculture are demonstrated. A selection of materials and technologies exploredin the Wall House will be showcased atthe Venice Biennale, and will include:terracotta interlocking tubes, terracottafiller slabs, terracotta jack arches, andrecycled materials
The Wall House in the Corderie Building of the Arsenale,Venice
PhotomontageGround level Plan 1 :625Typical cross section
0 10 20 30 40 50 100 m
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The Exhibition Project
The installation is intended as a 1 : 1 representational studyof the Wall House, in which technologies and spatial strate-gies can be further explored and expanded upon.
It is anticipated that the structure will consist of authenticand new elements, in order to deliver the project within its new context: the Arsenale. The interest of the project lies in its ability to evoke and thereby simulate a spatial experience akin to the original Wall House, and to sharewith a wider audience, the technological undertakings ofAnupama Kundoo.
Ultimately, the success of the project will be measured byits ability to capture the essential elements and intentionsof the Wall House and to act as a critique of the practice of exhibiting artefact as architecture.
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The Team
Exhibition Design Team:Anupama KundooMichael Dickson Assisted by:Jessica Spresser Master of Architecture studentKatie Hawgood Master of Architecture studentYohei Omura Master of Architecture student
Collaborators:Andreas Deffner PhotographyHarun Farocki FilmmakerProfessor Gerd Fleischmann Visual CommunicationGreg Killen Structural EngineeringRay Meeker Ceramicist
Dr Anupama KundooBrisbane AddressThe University of Queensland School of ArchitectureRoom 318_Zelman Cowen Building, Brisbane QLD 4072_AustraliaP +61 420 678436F +61 7 3365 3999
Address in IndiaPetite Ferme_Auroville 605 101Tamil Nadu_IndiaP + 91 915 9788631
Council of Architecture_IndiaRegn. No. CA/93/15925Associate of the Indian Institute of Architects
Yohei Omura, Jessica Spresser, Michael Dickson (hidden), Dr Anupama Kundoo, Senior Lecturer, BArch University of Mumbai, PhD TU Berlin