ARCHITECT correspondent Richard Ingersoll cited Zaha Hadid, Hon. FAIA’s installation in the Arsenale at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition as the only moment of spectacle in David Chipperfield, Hon. FAIA’s “Common Ground” installation. But according to the architect’s London-based firm, it has more to do with a “historical strand of research” than it does with simple form-making. The firm is well-known for its use of algorithms to generate forms, including in the Guangzhou Opera House, completed last year. For the “Arum” installation at this year’s biennale, the team turned those algorithms to a study of lightweight shells working in concert with tensile structures. In “Arum,” a self-supporting pleated metal shell dominates the installation, reflecting and refracting light across the gallery, which also contains documentation of the firm’s research, including projects by Frei Otto, Felix Candela, and Heinz Isler that informed the study. The installation will be on view until the architecture biennale closes on Nov. 25.
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