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Re-set

Petra Blaisse's project for the Dutch Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale communicates new possibilities for vacant buildings, in a time where conscientious use of space is crucial.

Visitors entering the Dutch pavilion at this year's 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale will need to be more than simply interested and curious. They will require a special quality — an inner readiness to wait and allow time for things to happen. It may seem obvious but it is not easy to change the increasingly widespread attitude that expects to experience cultural events quickly, especially those forming part of larger ones and packed with numerous simultaneous proposals.

The installation, designed by Petra Blaisse of Inside Outside and curated by Ole Bouman, director of NAi, appears very simple: two full-height fabric curtains glide slowly through the interior of the historic building designed by Gerrit Rietveld and take it over. Their movement is steered by tracks fixed to the ceiling, governed by a timer that is programmed to alternate movement and pause 12 times for 96 seconds. It takes time to fully grasp the essence of the work. Blaisse says: "We enhance the time phenomena because the curtain movement is about time; because the light coming into the pavilion is also about time; as the installation shifts during the day, the shadows and light patches on the walls, curtains and floor change position with the sun. We put mirrors on the roof to catch the sun in the opposite direction: the reflections go from west to east and the sun shifts from east to west whereas the curtains move through the space in twelve positions — like the twelve hours of the day and night."

Time and space are the joint protagonists of the project and is physically and perceptively changed by the twelve configurations of the fabric curtains. Bouman argues: "This pavilion, an incredible exhibition space, was built 54 years ago and is only used for three months a year, during the Biennale. We wanted show that architecture can still play a decisive role in reanimating and reviving this vacant building. Petra Blaisse has managed to create many new ground plans: pure architecture."

<em>Re-Set</em>, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photos by Rob ‘t Hart — *Re-Set*, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photos by Rob ‘t Hart

"She has made twelve new buildings out of one," Bouman continues. "Through her imagination, the building has been multiplied but also amplified and even augmented. With this installation, the pavilion has become not just a physical container but a story and an experience. Some people say they feel embraced by this performance; others sit down and simply watch it like a film." Blaisse also highlights the role played by the fabrics, with their different weaves, inserts and colours, in the creation of the new spaces: "The literal space is turned into different kinds of rooms, different kinds of organizations. Sometimes you have one room, sometimes three rooms, sometimes four, sometimes two and all different shapes and with different effects. Sometimes it's a transparent room, sometimes it's an enclosed room and sometimes it's a colourful room." Alluding to the possibility of using a few, simple means to creatively transform space, she adds: "It is also an invitation to economize in architecture and in the market economy."

<em>Re-Set</em>, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Alessandra Bello — *Re-Set*, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Alessandra Bello

Blaisse wanted to leave Rietveld's space as empty as possible and clearly differentiate between the existing and her implementation. On the outside, she added a reflecting metallic band to the base that gives the building the appearance of floating above the ground. In addition to the mirrors added to the roof — to channel the sunlight along certain trajectories —, Blaisse has also altered the glass in the windows — from opaque to transparent.

Time and space are the joint protagonists of the project and is physically and perceptively changed by the twelve configurations of the fabric curtains

<em>Re-Set</em>, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Rob ‘t Hart — *Re-Set*, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Rob ‘t Hart

Inside, the curtain track is clearly visible on the ceiling and has the value of an art object: the tracks, chain and tiny motors form a sophisticated engineering system and are, aesthetically speaking, integral parts of the installation. Although the whole hi-tech system is silent, the presence of the chain — like those on bicycles — gave the designer the idea of introducing a low sound that is triggered by the movement of the curtains. She involved one of the technical assistants who turned out to be a professional musician and composer.

Blaisse says: "I wanted the sound to be purely mechanical, so he made a few fingers connected to the curtains and implemented a few structures between the tracks; as the curtain passes, it makes a tic-tic-tic or bling-bling-bling… like a composition. The sound occurs at three different points; sometimes you hear just one, sometimes you can hear two together and sometimes you hear nothing but, in the end, you have a feeling that it might be an announcement of some Asian ceremony or it could trigger the memory of something totally different. Visitors of different cultures entering this building interpret the sound each in their own way." Rita Capezzuto

<em>Re-Set</em>, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Gaia Cambiaggi — *Re-Set*, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Gaia Cambiaggi

<em>Re-Set</em>, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Coen Ruys — *Re-Set*, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Coen Ruys

<em>Re-Set</em>, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Inside Outside — *Re-Set*, the Dutch Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale. Photo by Inside Outside

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Re-set

Petra Blaisse's project for the Dutch Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale communicates new possibilities for vacant buildings, in a time where conscientious use of space is crucial.

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