Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
© Courtesy of the Authors
Based on the idea of Mirage, described at the wikipedia as a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky, the team that designed the Croatian Pavilion for the Venice Biennale decided to create a floating pavilion to present arts and architecture of Croatia at the Venice Biennale.
Following the same principles of a Fata Morgana, which is an unusual and very complex form of Mirage that can be seen in a narrow band right above the horizon, the Floating Pavilion is constructed on an existing barge with dimensions of 10m x 20m x 3m. It is designed by a group of 14 leading Croatian architects, who have made the recent Croatian architecture visible on the global scene. Instead of working in the usual formats of their practices and presenting speculative projects, they decided to work together on a single proposal and to have it constructed and towed toward its final destination in Venice right away. The pavilion structure is the barge’ cargo, welded from 30 tons of Q385 wire mesh in more than 40 layers of varying contours. The cargo presented here maps the process of intense interaction between architects working on the common project, their collaboration with the Croatian maritime industry, and the extraordinary act of architecture it produced. Please follow the pavilion’s maiden voyage across the Adriatic over here
© Courtesy of the Authors
Commissioner: Leo Modrčin
Participating architects: Saša Begović, Marko Dabrović, Igor Franić, Tanja Grozdanić, Petar Mišković, Silvije Novak, Veljko Oluić, Helena Paver Njirić, Lea Pelivan, Toma Plejić, Goran Rako, Saša Randić, Idis Turato, Pero Vuković, Tonči Žarnić
Organizer: Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka, Croatia
Time Schedule for August 28th 2010:
08:00 AM – 10:00 AM Towing trough Venice Lagoon to the Riva dei Sette Martiri
from 10:00 AM Mooring at the Riva dei Sette Martiri
02:30 PM Croatian Venue exhibition opening in Arsenale
06:30 PM Inauguration and opening of the Croatian floating pavilion at the Riva dei Sette Martiri
The Pavilion
The floating pavilion is built on an existing barge with dimensions of 10m x 20m x 3m. The pavilion structure is in the form of a cargo of 32 tons of welded wire mesh, with more than 40 layers spaced so that they form a solid volume with approximate dimensions of 19m x 9m x 5,5m. Inside the volume is a carved out space shaped by varying contours that form the main space as well as protrusions and openings toward the outside. Almost invisible form a distance, the structure reveals itself with different densities of steel mesh, transparencies, and vision lines, forming stunning visual effects and experience of space by very simple means. The Croatian pavilion is towed by a tugboat from the shipyard in Kraljevica to the port of Rijeka, to be presented to the public on 21 August 2010, and on to Venice to be moored at the main pier during the opening of the Biennale.
floor plan & elevation
The Exhibition
Inside the Croatian exhibition space, the project documentation center has been set up in the form of cargo boxes printed with the records of the design process, the construction of the pavilion at the 280-year-old shipyard in Kraljevica, and its journey across the Adriatic. Lana Cavar and Narcisa Vukojević are responsible for graphic design of the exhibition, while Vjeran Šalomon made audio installation.
© Zelimir Grzancic
The Publication
Also as cargo, the project publication is presented in the form of 6 loose printed sheets with photo documentation, which when folded and bound make a 96 page book for everybody to take. The concept and the production of the publication is by Lana Cavar and Narcisa Vukojević. Marko Golub conducted the interviews.
axo 01
axo 02
The Authors
The authors of the project are 15 of the most distinguished Croatian architects of today, who through various practices and some of the most distinct buildings designed recently, are already recognized on the global architectural scene. They have established Croatian architecture as a relevant force. Here they have united into a single work team that has produced a common project and had it realized for the Croatian participation at La Biennale. Saša Begović, Marko Dabrović, Igor Franić,Tanja Grozdanić, Petar Mišković,Silvije Novak, Veljko Oluić, Helena Paver Njirić, Lea Pelivan, Toma Plejić,Goran Rako, Saša Randić, Idis Turato, Pero Vuković and Tonči Žarnić met in more than 20 work sessions and innumerable other meetings and site visits.
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great job!!!
Most of the authors of the crippled pavilion are professors at Split Faculty of Architecture
Absolutely stunning.
one of the best project of this summer
awesome
WOW! AMAZING VISUAL EFFECTS!
Just incredible!
I thought I was looking at CG in the first pic … well done
Very nice effect! it reminds me a bit like aerogel, the blue smoke, so light and fuzzy. The only thing I don’t like is the ugly grey boat underneath.
This is thing is f-ing awesome. Best project and execution of an idea in ages..Now if they can ship it to my house…I live at: ….
one of the most exciting projects i have seen lately…almost organic.
and it is truly – floating -.
floating in a way that it’s not frequently, or i dare say, has never been seen in architecture before.
What’s really unique is to have 15 independent architects collaborate and produce a result like this!
i am truly amazed, this pops out anything seen before these days including the shanghai xpo
Fata Morgana..Simply..Amazing! This surely will make people to keep an eye on Croatian architecture. Great job!!
simple…incredible
so blurry, so good! one of the best projects i’ve seen in a long time!
Great job!
just with cheap material and a great idea.
This is architecture.
What is truly amazing is that there is nowhere in the article mention of Croatian selector for the Biennale-architect Leo Modrcin, who conceived the whole project.Editors,editors?!
That is really stunning!
what a pity that the swimming base is not that nice.
the sculpture by itself it’s really really nice!
Yes, really awesome!
they went for “mirage” and they ended up with this incredible structure. simply beautiful!
Definitely the most original pavilion I’ve seen so far!
Too bad it collapsed just before the the opening of the Biennale, hopefully they can still fix it, the photos are ok, but really experiencing the pavilion would be much better..
Beautiful for sure. Visual for sure also…
Ideas comes from: UK pavillon in china + Pavillon made by Jean Nouvel in Swizeland. ( steel entity in the middle of water).
http://www.lematin.ch/files/imagecache/485×365/stories/cube_1.jpg
The idea is excellent, and also good interpretation….too bad that the construction wasn’t on the same level. As with all great projects, too many contra verses, problems…but at the end there is a thing to remember.
LOL at all the hidden messages here
great idea bad implementation…and not enough sheer strength of the structure
1- Why shooting down commenters who obviously were not aware of the collapse???
2- I have few questions. I see so much people shouting at this incident like a crime was committed. So I’d like to know:
- Was the pavilion opened to public at that time?
- Have people been injured?
- How do you know it’s architects fault, not another problem?
- No one can say anymore that the idea was beautiful despite it ended in a tragic way?
P.S.: I really miss access to some of the links provided above because of blocked websites where i live.
the authors of the pavilion tried to explain its collaps at the press conference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NYfQEYWiwM and answered to the journalists’ questions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF0JbPegvWI
10:16 AM Aug 25th
The Floating Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | http://bit.ly/9mn7Bw | Published at @archdaily with links and references
11:11 AM Aug 25th
Still loving the Croatian pavilion in Venice. Thanks @archdaily for the bigger pics. http://bit.ly/9mn7Bw
11:22 AM Aug 25th
US TOO! RT @VariousArch: Still loving the Croatian pavilion in Venice. http://bit.ly/9mn7Bw #labiennale
11:26 AM Aug 25th
This is stunning RT @cast_architect: US TOO RT @VariousArch: Still loving the Croatian pavilion in Venice. http://bit.ly/9mn7Bw #labiennale
12:02 PM Aug 25th
http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/
12:12 PM Aug 25th
To quote a tutor, this project is very ephemeral… RT @archdaily Croatian Pavilion @ Venice Biennale http://bit.ly/dhoeNb #architecture
12:52 PM Aug 25th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | http://bit.ly/b3K2W8
1:08 PM Aug 25th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale: © Courtesy of the AuthorsBased on the idea of Mirage, described at the w… http://bit.ly/a5uuyB
1:39 PM Aug 25th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale http://tinyurl.com/32ooua9
2:06 PM Aug 25th
Check out: "Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/w8ifzk )
3:01 PM Aug 25th
http://tinyurl.com/32ooua9 Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale #architecture #arquitectura
3:16 PM Aug 25th
Croatian Pavilion at Venice Biennale: http://bit.ly/dcsU97 via @archdaily #architecture
3:21 PM Aug 25th
WOW! RT @zerovski http://tinyurl.com/32ooua9 Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale #architecture #arquitectura
3:21 PM Aug 25th
Reading: "Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/w8ifzk )
3:27 PM Aug 25th
RT @Kevin__Wharton: Croatian Pavilion at Venice Biennale: http://bit.ly/dcsU97 via @archdaily #architecture
4:38 PM Aug 25th
RT @Kevin__Wharton: Croatian Pavilion at Venice Biennale: http://bit.ly/dcsU97 via @archdaily #architecture
4:41 PM Aug 25th
RT @Kevin__Wharton: Croatian Pavilion at Venice Biennale: http://bit.ly/dcsU97 via @archdail #TWITT #job #SFO http://3taps.com/w/HWP7VZ
4:41 PM Aug 25th
RT @Kevin__Wharton: Croatian Pavilion at Venice Biennale: http://bit.ly/dcsU97 via @archdail #TWITT #job #SFO http://3taps.com/w/HWP7VZ
4:49 PM Aug 25th
#iaflash RT @Kevin__Wharton: Croatian Pavilion at Venice Biennale: http://bit.ly/dcsU97 via @archdaily #architecture http://bit.ly/9BQhwx
6:51 PM Aug 25th
Reading: "Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/w8ifzk )
7:07 PM Aug 25th
Check out: "Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/w8ifzk )
9:29 PM Aug 25th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. A mirage or more boxes? http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/
9:51 PM Aug 25th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale http://bit.ly/9mn7Bw Great Project
10:06 PM Aug 25th
Awesome floating Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale ~ http://bit.ly/dcsU97 #architecture
10:08 PM Aug 25th
RT @AdrianaMullen: Awesome floating Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale ~ http://bit.ly/dcsU97 #architecture
2:23 AM Aug 26th
http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/
3:10 AM Aug 26th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale // http://archdai.ly/ddVAjv // RT @ethel_baraona
3:10 AM Aug 26th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale // http://archdai.ly/ddVAjv // RT @ethel_baraona
3:54 AM Aug 26th
こういう表層の曖昧な建築が最近の流行っぽいですね。 Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale http://bit.ly/9trx7z
4:14 AM Aug 26th
croatian pavilion at the Veniche Biennale http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/ #architecture
4:20 AM Aug 26th
Croation Pavilion- Venice Beinale
http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/
4:38 AM Aug 26th
RT @Jaoh_u: Croation Pavilion- Venice Beinale
http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/
4:44 AM Aug 26th
RT @Jaoh_u: Croation Pavilion- Venice Beinale
http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/
4:53 AM Aug 26th
Croation Pavilion- Venice Beinale http://bit.ly/cDURYg (via @Jaoh_u) | #biennale
7:56 AM Aug 26th
Що не сме във Венеция ли? Щот нямаме пари и време :-) Що България не е на @la_Biennale във Венеция? Е т'ва не знам http://bit.ly/dhoeNb
8:46 AM Aug 26th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily BELIEVE IT! http://t.co/KsbV0cx via @archdaily
9:40 AM Aug 26th
que bonito el pabellón Croata: http://bit.ly/dcsU97
9:53 AM Aug 26th
http://bit.ly/dxAvQ4 croatian pavilion at the Veniche Biennale, very very nice and interesting!.. #architecture via @frikearq
10:13 AM Aug 26th
hrvatski http://pavilion.hr predstavljen i na ArchDaily-u kao najava za @la_Biennale http://bit.ly/aX19o0
10:35 AM Aug 26th
Wanna see something awesome? Oh wait — you can't really see it. It's a mirage. #MindblowingArchitecture http://bit.ly/dcsU97
11:01 AM Aug 26th
Based on Mirage: Croatian Pavilion at the Veniche Biennale | post by @ethel_baraona | http://bit.ly/dxAvQ4 (via @frikearq+@cmazaira)
12:10 PM Aug 26th
Amazing! RT @VariousArch – Still loving the Croatian pavilion in Venice. Thanks @archdaily for the bigger pics. http://bit.ly/9mn7Bw
2:29 PM Aug 26th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://su.pr/1RVDxb esta increible.
2:31 PM Aug 26th
RT @alvaroROW: Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://su.pr/1RVDxb esta increible.
2:31 PM Aug 26th
RT @alvaroROW: Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://su.pr/1RVDxb esta increible. / MUY CHINGON
2:35 PM Aug 26th
rt : @pavray4 RT @alvaroROW: Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://su.pr/1RVDxb / MUY CHINGON / muy cabron
3:39 PM Aug 26th
RT @alvaroROW: Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://su.pr/1RVDxb esta increible. / Pues claro si son mis parientes!
9:14 PM Aug 26th
http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/ http://fb.me/GFW9rkbR
10:09 PM Aug 26th
ベネチア・ビエンナーレのクロアチア館がきれい。鉄筋かな？ http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/
3:28 AM Aug 27th
http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/
4:50 AM Aug 27th
スダレみたいなもんで、こんなん出来るなんて！ 曖昧な境界ってのをここまで分かりやすくデザイン出来てるのも珍しいね Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://t.co/KOM9xpE via
7:14 AM Aug 27th
Nice. Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://t.co/ILPpI4Q via @archdaily
11:18 AM Aug 27th
Gran proyecto // Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily [ http://t.co/9oBhaVE via @archdaily ]
12:46 AM Aug 29th
memo. info. Aug. http://is.gd/eJir7
1:55 AM Aug 30th
Reading: "Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/w8ifzk )
5:20 AM Aug 30th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://t.co/IkPDwO5 via @archdaily Das sieht gut aus, Gebäude mit "unscharfen" Kanten!
8:16 AM Aug 30th
http://bit.ly/caZdna Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily
6:52 PM Aug 30th
Pabellón de Croacia en la Bienal de Venecia 2010. http://bit.ly/dhoeNb
6:59 PM Aug 30th
Lo que hace la varilla de 8. http://bit.ly/dcsU97
8:20 PM Aug 30th
Interesting concept at the Venice Biennale: http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/ via @archdaily
5:27 AM Sep 2nd
分享 http://tinyurl.com/2g74auh (克羅埃西亞於威尼斯建築雙年展的作品) http://plurk.com/p/78b0xk
2:26 PM Sep 3rd
SO AWESOME!! —> Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://t.co/awEVMyL via @archdaily
11:15 AM Sep 4th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale http://fb.me/FeN2FP8c
12:40 AM Sep 6th
http://tinyurl.com/2g74auh
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily
11:35 AM Sep 8th
Like this a lot, bold brash shimmer of a pavilion for Venice #venicebienale http://tiny.cc/eides
11:37 AM Sep 8th
Like this a lot, bold brash shimmer of a pavilion for Venice #venicebiennale http://tiny.cc/eides
1:40 AM Sep 13th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/
5:02 PM Sep 19th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://t.co/Vkxd5Nk via @archdaily
12:21 PM Oct 2nd
Architecture as Mirage: http://www.archdaily.com/74469/croatian-pavilion-at-the-venice-biennale/ (The posts never end!)
11:42 AM Oct 20th
Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://t.co/LNIXaCj via #architecture #venice #pavilion
11:55 AM Oct 20th
RT @kropped: Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale | ArchDaily http://t.co/LNIXaCj via #architecture #venice #pavilion
5:52 PM Mar 21st
On-water pavilion features work of 15 Croatian Architects, floats across Adriatic #VeniceBiennale #inspiring http://ow.ly/4iTDT
2:29 AM Sep 11th
mi Fata @NixAltazor leí este artículo, te nombraron y me acordé de ti! muic http://t.co/s5N81iY
2:54 AM Sep 11th
q loquera de espacio Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale http://t.co/s5N81iY #Arquitectura
3:24 AM Sep 11th
RT @nagialy q loquera de espacio Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale http://t.co/w6KN5Lz #Arquitectura: q l… http://t.co/1pnXFRI