Glassbox is an artist runassociation dedicated to contemporary art exhibitions. It exists since 1997. First based in the 11th ward of Paris it has moved in several locations in the city over the years until march 2012 when it has reopened near its historical location, rue Moret. FREAKS freearchitects have been commissioned to work on its new space based on the ground floor of a newly built housing building. The major aim of the project was to first create a facade to the street, and then work on the inner space to maximize the exhibition surface on the walls and allow different types of configuration.
FREAKS' statement has been to consider the space as a flexible area by installing a rotating over-scale door that organizes the whole space by splitting it in several ways. To increase the relation with the outdoor environment, the facade has been realized with a similar system as the ones used for bars and cafés. That's why the facade doesn't look like a typical art gallery facade. That sliding system allows the whole space to be all open to the street. The ground floor has been realized with the same black asphalt as the one composing the outdoor pavement. Once open, the gallery looks just like an extension of the sidewalk...
The inner space is very simple and pure since dedicated to art exhibition but contains one main element : a 180° rotating wall that allows to split the space in different ways according to each exhibitions. The photos have been taken during the first opening exhibition Invisible landscapes / Earth by croatian artist Davor Sanvincenti.
