max lamb crafts furniture for the albanian pavilion at venice biennale

max lamb crafts furniture for the albanian pavilion at venice biennale
all images © špela volčič

inside the albanian pavilion at the 2016 venice architecture biennale, british designer max lamb has created a collection of furniture for their ‘I have left you the mountain’ exhibition. the theme inside the exhibit initiates a conversation about the urbanism of displacement, projecting the albanian case onto an international stage, with the express intention to transmit that dialogue and its speculation back into albania.

a series of beige distorted stools and benches can be seen organized underneath the suspended loud speakers. embodying max lamb’s recognized style, the rubber-fabricated furniture is reminiscent of plinths and ruins invites visitors to sit and engage with albania’s exhibition.

meanwhile, ten texts written by contemporary thinkers and writers have been recorded with a background to music created by the last remaining groups of albanian iso-polyphonic singers. a 12-inch vinyl record is played continuously in the pavilion as an eight-channel audio installation, filling the pavilion with the voices of albania.

ten texts written by contemporary thinkers and writers have been recorded with a background to music

for more images, follow designboom on our dedicated instagram account @venice.architecture.biennale.

a plastic curtain serves as a transparent divider

music recorded by the last remaining groups of albanian iso-polyphonic singers

using 8 speakers at the pavilion each of the voices is reproduced individually

playback is controlled by a record player playing mspinky vinyl records containing timecode information

visitors inside the albanian pavilion