38° 30° Art Valley is a collection of 10 different well known domestic and international artists, whom are in collaboration with 10 various architects to create 10 unique pavilions, which each will house large scale art installations. The pavilions are seamlessly intergraded into the overall landscape of the Art Valley with their strategically defined locations.
The landscape of the 38° 30° Art Valley comprises distinctly different zones — such as a ridge, slopes, and a valley — that can be considered "topographical themes." The media artworks in the 38° 30° Art Valley — involving light, video, as well as kinetic and interactive elements — strive to augment the landscape, building connections between the audience and nature and reflecting on relationships between nature and technology. The projects will all engage with the elements and the senses in different ways, exploring concepts of natural materials and perception. They will incorporate visuals and sound, but also activate kinesthetic sense and a perception of “balance” in the environment. Some of the clusters of elements explores in the art projects will be wind, sound, and music; water, light and electricity; earth, rock and soil. Each artwork contributes to creating the narrative of the 38° 30° Art Valley's curatorial concept.
The structure follows the topography by length and brings the surrounding vegetation vertically up the side of the building on to the green roof. Over time the structure will merge seamlessly into the landscape.
Made by raw materials extracted from nature, steel is one of the most important materials in modern life. At the same time being constantly exposed to the elements, steel will weather and slowly breakdown and return to nature. The weathered steel facade push and pulls from the main structure which creates pockets that are used as planters to tie the green roof to the surrounding landscape. The facade around the entrance and exit sharpens and tightens breaking the organic form and invites the visitor into the structure.