In Praise of Shadows has designed a temporary wooden Pavilion in the garden of Serra dei Giardini as part of the collateral event, Greenhouse Garden - Reflect, Project, Connect. To pavilion is formed as a loggia in dialogue with the structure of the Greenhouse adding an outdoor shaded space to the garden.
The Loggia d´Ombra is part of the exhibition Plots, Prints, and Projections at Serra dei Giardini curated by Ulrika Karlsson. The exhibition will house a series of large-scale spatial installations that are the result of an investigation of the contemporary and challenging role of architectural representations and their translations to built form, in the meeting with the dynamic material wood and the manufacturing industry. The Loggia will also act as the stage for a series of seminars and workshops on architecture, the built environment and the global goals of Agenda 2030, as well as how architecture and wood can be part of it.
The typologies of the loggia and the traditional Swedish dance pavilions have been important references in the design. The loggia as an architectural typology is present in Venice as a private or semi-public space, basically a floor, a roof and pillars to keep them apart creating a space. The dance pavilion, although in a very different context, is similar in its structure. Both the loggia and the dance pavilion provide the double function of an inner space to gather in and a perimeter that is just as important providing the opportunity of informal interaction, viewing and being seen.
The plan geometry of the existing greenhouse is there to optimise the solar radiation inside, for catching the sun. To form a loggia for the Greenhouse we inverted this geometry , blocking the sun instead of collecting it, enclosing a shaded space here in front of the café. The angle of the green house fold is repeated in plan, section and elevation, It creates a repetitive structure with a central distortion to create the fold in plan. The V-pillars leaning in section allowing the roof to be larger than the floor to provide shelter also for the perimeter of the Loggia where the floor becomes a seating situation.
The relation between materials and structure is in a historic context very complex, Stone structures mimicked wooden, wooden mimicking stone. Also Cast iron at the outset was often used to mimic wood and there is a long tradition of materials acting as something else in architecture. In technology shifts within building construction it often takes a while to develop the optimal use of materials as well as the aesthetics of possible structural concepts relating to the materials.
As an investigation in these relations the wooden structure of the Loggia d’Ombra is given a thin metallic silvery lasure. Its a reference to iron of the Greenhouse as well as a protection that serves to let the wood turn grey as the paint is worn off. It´s also a way to heighten the experience of the structure as a whole as the reflective surface make the play of light and shadows more intense.
With a total length of 540 meters the 127 glulam elements of 41 different types. 34 V-pillars of 6 different types are CNC-cut. The geometry is rationalised gathering the more complex geometries to the V-pillars that could be cut in the brand new CNC mill at Martinsons The bolts keeping it together is a reference to the traditional joining of cast iron but also to make sure it is possible to demount and re-erect somewhere else.
Together with Källemo we have also developed a Loggia serie of furniture pieces, a bench, a table and a cabinet. The geometry is in dialogue with the geometry of the Loggia and they are all built in pine-wood and cast iron. The legs are paired and connected with a massive piece of wood that lock them together creating a table and a bench. We investigated the possibility inherent with the process of casting to create prints from the original and having the wooden originals sandblasted created wooden imprints of the wood in the surface of the cast iron. And as a contrast to this the actual wood of the furniture is as the Loggia stained in a silver metallic lasure.
Organisers
Architects Sweden, Swedish Wood and Folkhem promoted by the Swedish Institute.
Exhibition - Plots, Prints, Projections, curated by Ulrika Karlsson
Architect
In Praise of Shadows Arkitektur
Team: Katarina Lundeberg, Fredric Benesch, Daniel Elis Karlsson, Ivan Segato, Björk Tryggvadottir, Lovisa
