Facades of the Venice Biennale
The 14th Annual Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale runs from June 7 to November 23, 2014. This year's Biennale includes 65 participating countries.
A mock-up of the marquee we designed for the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia is on display at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. The exhibit, called Elements of Architecture, includes the fundamentals of buildings anywhere on earth: floor, wall, ceiling, door, etc. Within the room dedicated to "Facades" are twelve assemblages, including the theater marquee, that have been developed over the course of the past century—from all-glass to curtainwall to green facades.
Zahner, an American engineering design consultancy and fabrication shop, constructed both the mock-up and the actual marquee in its Kansas City factory. Made of interference-coated stainless steel, the curvilinear marquee appears to change colors from different angles and in different lighting conditions. Its dynamic, billowing shape further exaggerates its material ambiguity.
A curtainwall mock-up (left) and rainscreen mock-up (right) with the marquee mock-up beyond, displaying its capacity for changing color depending on lighting and viewing angle.
The stainless steel marquee mock-up is visible in the foreground, with (left to right) green facade, precast facade, and tensile facade mock-ups in the background.
