Serralves Pavilion
The Pavilion is part of Live Uncertainty: An Exhibition after the 32nd Bienal de São Paulo.
The proposed pavilion is based on the creation of two concentric spaces that have distinct functions: the interstitial space and the central space. The cylindrical spatiality emphasizes the centrality of the work on display, which is of crucial importance for design of the space. This is reinforced by cancellation of a main entrance, in favour of a second outer façade, that may be entered from three points, which divide the entrance into the pavilion by its perimeter, thus fostering different accesses and relationships with Serralves Park. Discovery of the Museum’s structure is achieved at three distinct moments: recognition of a habitable space, a transition path and the projection site. From the outside, the pavilion appears to have an abstract skin, a continuous façade across its curved surface, built from vertical wooden planks. Natural light molds the pavilion’s shape, in a gradation of different tonalities that reinforces its volumetry and reveals several planes at different depths. As it is hit by the sun's rays, the built structure extends over itself, causing shadows, which are also curved, that meander around the central façade, projecting different designs during the day. The juxtaposition of curved and parallel planes, which alternately open arched openings, help control natural light in the interior space, and directs the visitor to travel through the mediation space without revealing the central core from the outside. An immersive space is thereby created, in which the visitor becomes aware of the act of entering through the desire to discover a space that is not immediately perceptible as the visitor moves towards to the architectural object. The mediating space ― in the form of an antechamber-itinerary ― aims to ensure that visitors become aware of their bodies in space and prepare them for enjoyment of the exhibited work.
