alejandro aravena of elemental: the magnet and the bomb

image © designboom

architect alejandro aravena of chilean think tank elemental presents ‘the magnet and the bomb’ as part of david chipperfield’s curated exhibition at the venice biennale. the installation references the magnetic attraction to urban locations of knowledge, people, development, opportunities and wealth but without proper management these areas acquire social pressures with inherent time limitations.

referenced projects are the reconstruction efforts after the 2010 earthquake and a social discontent occurring within the copper-mining city calama located in the north of the country. water becomes a common denominator, either in excess or in shortage – and trees are identified as a solution in both locations.

a bifurcated wall represents the buildings, design, process and public involvement across both situations to be able to process the complexity of the reform events occurring in the social dimension. wooden carvings along with copper postcard visually depict the social and bureaucratic processes which took place.

explanation which plays during the exhibition video © designboom

alejandro aravena image © designboom

installation to present both case studies image © designboom

wooden carvings on the left represent the country’s post-earthquake reconstruction efforts while the copper postcards represent the copper-mining town of calama image © designboom

wooden carvings represent a timeline of the country’s post-earthquake reconstruction efforts image © designboom

day 1: acquire water day 2: acquire shelter image © designboom

copper postcards display information about the copper-mining town of calama image © designboom

placard at entry to the exhibition image © designboom

alejandro aravena // venice biennale 2012 // by baunetz video courtesy of baunetz media