snøhetta: zero

‘zero’ by snøhetta by night image © designboom

the theme of interni‘s presentation at milan design week 2011 is ‘mutant architecture and design’, an open-air laboratory on design thinking and its complexity and progressive evolution, transformation and achievement.

the design proposal that emerges from these reflections and which involves the home, city, landscape and territory, are that of a transformable and mobile architecture, ‘intelligent structures’ which are characterized by their flexibility and the capacity to be dismantled and moved. the term ‘mutant’ is extracted from this, meaning the condition of design in the wider sense of the term, having the capacity to create a responsible relationship with reality.

the interni installations located inside the courtyards of the università degli studi di milano, focus on the use of materials, their durability, their relationship with time, with a connection to the concept of use and reuse over time.

image © designboom

‘mutant means evolution and continuous experimentation to connect the design process to increasingly attentive, necessary environmental awareness, in which the theme of resources and assets also provides guiding values for thinking about objects and spaces in an innovative way.’

this theme of mutant architecture (i.e. architecture that is ready for changes, alterations and additions in its development and reutlization) promotes awareness of these themes through a number or experimental installations including that of norwegian architecture firm snøhetta.

three ring-like lamps hang from the ceiling of the installation image © designboom

snøhetta’s project ‘zero’ is an immense marble cube that measures 5 x 5 m, that has been hollowed, leaving it empty within. the exterior is rigid in form with sharp, pure edges with an unfinished surface. however, when one enters the space, the dynamic changes. everything softens. edges are smoothed, walls are polished and the lines of the floors are formed to create seats resulting in a structure in which one can walk, linger, sit down and think for a moment.

visitors enjoying ‘zero’ image © designboom

the concept of ‘zero’ came from the firm’s visit to a marble quarry. within, there was a tunnel opening into a larger room. this was the space which they wanted to recreate. the organically manmade space has informed their final design, a large structural void. the architectural installation is produced in collaboration with paolo armenise and silvia nerbi, with carrara marmotec – franchi umberto marmi, gemeg, il fiorino, italmarble di pocai, sam, savema, MT&S and up group with lighting by martinelli luce.

detail of the sloping interior where people can sit and contemplate image © designboom

detail of the marble image © designboom

renderings of the structure

concept sketch

concept sketch

overview of the courtyard with snøhetta’s ‘zero’ at the right image © designboom

kjetil thorsen, principal of snøhetta portrait © designboom