aranda\lasch and island planning corporation at venice biennale 2010

‘modern primitives’ by aranda\lasch and island planning corporation image © designboom

benjamin aranda and chris lasch of new york-based studio aranda\lasch have teamed up with nathan browning from island planning corporation to design a series of indoor and outdoor sculptures for this year’s venice architecture biennale. located in the entrance of the palazzo delle esposizioni, ‘modern primitives’ draws its form and aesthetic from the idea that building architecture, when distilled to its simplest form, is the method in which matter in the universe assembles itself.

it unfolds in ever-surprising and ever-new variations, like some equation rendered in spatial form. the pieces, which resemble large, magnified crystals, are arranged to communicate a non-static nature: they are spread out to seem as if they are growing or multiplying, much like the energy storage potential in actual crystals. the installation looks at the language of modularity and crystallographic structure to illustrate the use of modulated assemblies in architecture, where simple low-level rules and unfolding symmetries determine large scale organizations.

‘let’s make something people can use’, stated aranda/lasch of the aim of their project, ‘that can be sat upon, leaned on, held. modern primitives is simply a way to furnish a space. the installation will be used to hold intimate events, like a conversation or a ceremony. it is more of a cave than a black box; informality is more important than composure. this idea can spread beyond the gallery and into the city – into the streets, canals, and gardens of venice.‘

indoor sculptures image © designboom

(left) ‘modern primitive’ before the entry to cerith wyn evan’s ‘joanna (chapter one)’ (right) indoor arrangement of white ‘crystals’ with smaller moss pieces images © designboom

sculpture with a moss component during set-up image © designboom

detail image © designboom

project team: benjamin aranda and chris lasch with michael fimbres, matt ihms, maria anna kowalska, brian lee, justin pasternak, rishi sapra, lindsey wikstrom, spencer woodward

with the additional support of: fendi, thyssen-bornemisza art contemporary, johnson trading gallery, arizona state university – school of architecture + landscape architecture