UNStudio: motion matters exhibtion at AEDES gallery, berlin

UNStudio‘s ‘motion matters’ exhibition at AEDES gallery, berlinimage © christian richters

UNStudio: motion mattersAEDES gallery, berlinmay 17th to july 4th, 2013

UNStudio‘s investigations into the potential of temporary installations acting as experimental testing grounds for manifold architecture concerns is what forms the basis of their exhibition ‘motion matters’ which opens tonight at the AEDES gallery in berlin. presenting ten of their milestone projects, the show also provides a general survey of the international firm’s 25 years of architectural production, offering highlights of their practice and the wider discourse they engage in through their builds.

10 of the firms milestone projects are blown-up to an almost 1:1 scale image © christian richters

as the title suggests, the exhibition is divided into two thematic sections:

motiona spatial installation tests the viewer’s shifting perception through the effects of situation, light, color and material. a series of transitional spaces, optical illusions and trompe l’oeil effects are brought forth to UNStudio’s contemporary structures, generating an experience that negotiates the ideal and the relational–not just a showcase, or something which one passively observes, but an environment which demands active participation in order to create a spatial and dynamic experience.

founding partner of UNStudio ben van berkel on motion:

‘when we talk of ‘motion’ within architecture we not only refer to buildings and their potential effects, but also to shifts, or twists in the whole, integrated practice of the profession; we talk of the mobile forces which engender change and where the future of architecture may lie. ‘motion’ therefore also encapsulates the past, the present and the possible future of the profession.’

view of the galleria centercity, cheonan, koreaimage © christian richters

mattersa selection of 10 projects from UNStudio’s portfoilo are displayed at an almost 1:1 scale, offering the visitor the opportunity to ‘step into’ the architecture displayed. the featured buildings are: burnham pavilion (millennium park, chicago, USA), the centre for virtual engineering – ZVE (fraunhofer institute, stuttgart, germany), the theatre agora (lelystad, netherlands), the galleria centercity (cheonan, korea), the arnhem central – platform roofs (arnhem, netherlands), the mumuth music theatre (graz, austria), the holiday home (ICA, philadelphia, USA), the education executive agency & tax offices (groningen, netherlands), the haus am weinberg (stuttgart, germany), and the mercedes-benz museum (stuttgart, germany).

five thematic threads bind all of the work on show, connected through a three-dimensional ribbon that meanders through the gallery space. each of these lines are composed of a number of smaller images which afford the reading of various relationships between the exhibited projects, and provide insight into the knowledge-driven nature of UNStudio’s practice.

mercedes-benz museum, stuttgart, germanyimage © christian richters