The space beyond
Project
Not only because the sky is always beyond reach, but also because of the unlimited extension of space beyond the atmosphere. The pavilion creates a strong contrast and aims to be the starting point of a reflection on the issue of the negative, indeed disastrous effects of human activities literally in space beyond the sky. Taking its cue from the contemporary discussion about the space debris that orbits the earth, the pavilion presents an allegory of the gradual pollution of space. It underlines the responsibility that present generations have towards future ones.
The notions of void, transparency, permeability, endlessness are essential to the pavilion’s composition, just as are those of solidity, saturation, impermeability, creating a symbolic tension between space as we imagine it and as it is becoming due to the incrementally increasing problem of space debris, and more generally the unsustainable trends of human activity.
The pavilion’s space unfolds in passages that are created between curved walls which are made of metal cages. These walls are marked by the gradual reduction of their transparency as we approach the centre of the pavilion, due to the inclusion of an ever-increasing quantity of small, rusted metallic objects in the netting.
But the pavilion space does not lead to a dead end; the situation is still reversible, there are available lines of flight, both visually and physically.
Key info
Project: The Space beyond
Year: 2015
Client: SA
Category: Special Commissions
Area: 60,00m2
Status: Project
Team
Architect: Elena Stavropoulou
Collaborating architects: Manos Egglezos