From the delicate innovations of the fashion industry to the mind-bending accomplishments of 3D-printing technologies, Beauty—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial moves beyond any one form of art and offers a diverse insight into the future of design. Amid the work of creatives such as Neri Oxman, Jenny E. Sabin and the Haas Brothers, the curators of the Cooper Hewitt’s fifth edition of the Design Triennial — Andrea Lipps and Ellen Lupton — found a place for three blooming architecture studios.
Through a careful selection of projects, the museum presents the works of Japanese Sou Fujimoto Architects, Trace Architecture Office from China and Brooklyn-based SO – IL. Models, renderings and photographs of the three architecture offices’ works communicate the craft and artistry central to the creation of architecture and the making of beautiful objects and buildings.
View and detail of Fujimoto’s installation at the Cooper Hewitt, Architecture Is Everywhere; courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt
Originally created for the 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial, Sou Fujimoto’s series of models is called Architecture Is Everywhere. The project interprets the possibilities of architectural function in everyday materials, superposing figurines within each found object to engage the viewer with an unexpected sense of scale.
Renderings of Souk Mirage / Particles of Light Commercial Building Complex © Sou Fujimoto Architects, 2013
Photograph of Serpentine Pavilion © Sou Fujimoto Architects, 2013
Rendering of Montpellier Apartment L’Arbre Blanc © Sou Fujimoto Architects, 2014
The model installation is flanked by images of Sou Fujimoto’s concepts, from the built Serpentine Pavilion created in London in 2013 to renderings of his Souk Mirage, a masterplan for a Middle Eastern City, and L’Arbre Blanc, a planned apartment tower in Montpellier, France. Cloud-like, airy and porous, the beauty of Fujimoto’s buildings lies in the intricate balance of materials and structures that together create the fantastical palaces of the architect’s mind.
Model (1:150) for Forest Building; courtesy of TAO, 2015
Continuously working on the prospect of architecture as an extension of the surrounding environment, Trace Architecture Office presents the Forest Building in Beijing. Its presented model is constructed from plastic and wood and embodies the artful techniques used by architects to communicate a design in a minimalist and explorative way.
Photographs of Forest Building © Trace Architecture Office (TAO), 2014
Built with rammed earth and wood found nearby, the firm’s pavilion is a continuation of the surrounding trees, trunks and branches, acting both as a shelter for visitors and a site-specific piece of sculpture in Grand Canal Forest Park.
Model for Veiled© SO – IL, 2014
Rendering of Veiled © SO – IL, 2014
A concept for the Greek Pavilion at the 2014 Venice Bienniale, Veiled is a drape-like installation hovering above the rocky valley of the island. The mesh material aims to refract light, mitigate heat and transform wind into a soundscape, thereby heightening the power of nature and sense of place on this Aegean Island.
Model for Amant © SO – IL, 2015
Renderings of Amant © SO – IL, 2015
SO – IL’s design for the Amant private gallery is an assemblage of geometric forms strayed in bands of light to imbue a sense of ethereality in the spaces. The wood frame and plaster model is a beautifully designed object that suggests the concept of the space, but also of the luxury, purity and delicacy of the architecture itself.
The Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial is on show now and runs until August 21st this year. For more information, check out the institution’s dedicated web page.
