smiljan radic and marcela correa at venice architecture biennale 2010

the boy hidden in a fish image © designboom

smiljan radic and marcela correa from santiago de chile were invited to participate in the 12th venice architecture biennale under the theme ‘people meet in architecture’ curated by kazuyo seijima. as soon as you enter the arsenale space you’ll spot the beautiful sculpture ‘the boy hidden in a fish’, a large stone with a space carved out for one person to fit into.

the minimal sculpture seem to refer to the grimm brothers story ‘the sea-hare’. the team aims to offer hope for a serene future after the earthquake in chile on 27 february 2010. after earthquakes, people need to rebuild a future that is protected, perfumed, and peaceful (the team noted: like the one that we can sense behind the dry lines of david hockney‘s etching).

side view of the sculpture image © designboom

it is a shell of solid natural granite with holes drilled in it, and inside there is a box made from perfumed cedar wood. — refuge must be found inside.

front view of the sculpture image © designboom

exhibition space at the arsenale entrance image © designboom

side view of the sculpture image © designboom

images © designboom

front view of the sculpture image © designboom

side view of the sculpture image © designboom

close-up image © designboom

sketch by smiljan radic and marcela correa image © designboom

smiljan radic obtained his degree in architecture from the pontificia universidad católica de chile in 1989 and after furthering his training in venice and greece, radic’s work concentrates on local projects in chile, challenging the conventional notion of design practice without straying from the act of making architecture. togetherwith sculptress marcela correa, they have put together an oeuvre that is incredibly engaging; an architecture borderingon the atemporal.