Anupama Kundoo‘s Wall House, originally built in Auroville, India in 2000, will be partially reconstructed at a 1:1 scale at the Venice Biennale this year for the theme of “Common Ground” by director David Chipperfield. This portion of the exhibition is supported by the University of Queensland, whose students and staff will assist with the construction of the replica alongside Indian craftspeople and Italian builders. The house has been described as a testing ground for spatial and technological innovation. In its debut at the Venice Biennale, it will afford Kundoo the opportunity to further explore these experiments.
Follow us after the break to see the innovations behind this widely acknowledged piece of architecture.
The innovation of the Wall House is based on how attentive Kundoo’s design is to the local environment and culture. Her response to the site is a spatial strategy that redefines borders and transitional spaces. The Wall House is designed with a variety of sustainable building materials, selected to experiment with the nature of construction and experience of the space. The selection varies from terracotta, interlocking tubes, terracotta filler slabs, terracotta jack arches, and recycled materials.
The installation will transition the built work into a new phase of experimentation where authentic and new elements can be explored to further the concept of the house and redefine it to fit within its new context: the Arsenale at the Venice Biennale. Here, Kundoo, can bring together the two worlds of the house – its original location and essence with the exhibition space of the Arsenale.
More photos of the original house here.
