Chanel ferry (Venues)
When structural art becomes an artistic structure is a moot point. Creativity can come from anywhere but how does the quilted
Chanel bag inform the development of a 700 sq m mobile structure?
Renowned architect and Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Zaha Hadid
revealed all with the launch of her Mobile Art Pavilion in Hong
Kong. Sat Bal reports. (March 14 '08)
Over
the past 30 years Zaha Hadid's architecture has transformed our vision of the
future with its spatial concepts and bold, visionary forms as evidenced
by Hadid's Serpentine Gallery commission in London.
Her work has culminated in the design of the Mobile Art Pavilion. The Pavilion is a
travelling exhibition and events project which will circulate
for two years throughout Asia, the United States and Europe.
(Below) The Mobile Art Pavilion pre-launch in Hong Kong
The
Pavilion's size takes in a total of 700sqm with an overall height of
6m. Reducing arched segments will allow the Pavilion to be easily
transported in separate sections.
"Our architecture is intuitive, radical, international and dynamic," says Zaha Hadid. "We are concerned with constructing buildings that evoke original experiences, a kind of strangeness and newness that is comparable to the experience of going to a new country. The Mobile Art Pavilion for Chanel follows these principles of inspiration."
(Below) Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld holds court at the Pavilion To celebrate the grand inauguration of Mobile Art in Hong Kong, Chanel hosted an exclusive party two days ago with Chanel boss, Karl
Lagerfeld and Zaha Hadid in attendance. “She is the first
architect to find a way to part with the all-dominating post-Bauhaus aesthetic," said Karl Lagerfeld who commissioned the project. "The value of her designs is similar to that of great poetry. The potential of her imagination is enormous.”
The futuristic Pavilion structure allows some 20 international artists to exhibit work that was
inspired by the elements that give the Chanel bag its identity. It creates a variety of exhibition spaces around its circumference, while at its centre, a large 65m2 courtyard with natural lighting provides an area for visitors to meet and reflect on the exhibition. (Above) Pavilion architect Zaha Hadid
The
arrangement also allows visitors to see each other moving through the
space and interacting with the exhibition. In this way, the
architecture facilitates the viewing of art as a collective experience.
Its
central courtyard is the space that will excite event organisers who
wish to stage events in this unique structure during the exhibition in
each host city.
The Pavilion features generous public areas at its entrance with a 128m2 terrace
"I
see the Pavilion as a kind of total artwork that continually reinvents
itself as it moves from Asia, to the USA and Europe,” summarises Zaha
Hadid. Mobile
Art Pavilion's itinerary - Tokyo (May), New York (September '08),
London (June '09), Moscow (September '09) and Paris (February '10).
The Pavilion is set to cause a global stir uniting one of the greatest architects of
our time, innovative artists and the iconic Chanel quilted bag.
Click image for pictures from the Hong Kong launch party
