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Vector Architects reinterpret Seashore Library with a black-coloured condenser at Venice Biennale
Italy Architecture News - Jun 12, 2018 - 05:09 20771 views
Beijing-based architecture firm Vector Architects has installed a giant steel framework at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale to reinterpret the studio's well-known project "Seashore Library" in China, dubbed as "the loneliest library in China".
Presented at the Arsenale, the installation, titled Connecting Vessel", is presented as the texture, hue, spiral circulation and natural light condenser that is transformed from the spatial language of the Seashore Library, located in Beidaihe, China.
Image © Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
Concurrently, it is also designed to fit into a specific spot of Corderie, canalising the summer sunlight of Venice through a south-facing window. The Connecting Vessel is a container and a boat, linking two seashores, two time zones, two spaces, two groups of people, and two cultures.
Image © Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
"When we first saw the Seashore Library by Vector Architects we wondered if such a project and such a building could really exist, located as it is on a beach, standing alone at the edge of the sea," said the curators, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara.
Image © Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
"The fact that it is a library added another level of richness to this dream, since the Library as an institution is one of the most important freespaces in our society. When Vector responded to our invitation, they told the wonderful story of how this 'small space triggered such a level of social energy', attracting three thousand people a day from all over the nation," they added.
"The exhibit is a built space which feels like a cocoon, an amphitheatre space, a place of reflection and calm, of mystery, representing the quality of this wonderful Seashore Library."
Image © World Architecture Community
Image © World Architecture Community
Image © World Architecture Community
Image © World Architecture Community
The 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara under the title of Freespace, will be on view from May 26th to November 25th, 2018 in the Giardini and the Arsenale, and around other venues in Venice.
Top image © Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia