Between presence and disappearance

Buildings which play with the visual deception is a topic that has intrested me a lot after the comparision and understansting the way various architects represent architecture which is curcial theme in minimal architecture.

The two projects that struck me the most in this category were the

1. Aplix factory,nantes, france by Dominique Perrault
2. blur project,Arteplage Yverdon-les-bians of the swiss national exhibition 2002 by Diller+ Scofidio architects

Aplix factory,nantes, france by Dominique Perrault

dominique perrault in this project plays with the visual perception and revelation, with distortion and its correction.in this project which is a factory building, a modular structure build on a 'crossword puzzle grid' as he describes it, with facades of metal panels that like fresnel lenses refract and reflect their surroundings does not need a spectacular landscape as a frame.

 it is not designed for a specific site,it neither follows a definite typology nor makes any clear reference to the site.on the contrary it embodies the complex facets of meaning characterstic of such constantly changing industrial buildings in surroundings that themselves continously alter.what goes on inside remains completely mysterious.at the moment self-adherent fibre fabric and self supporting systems are manufactured there. but the facade, and the illusion it creates makes a person wonder.the vaguely shining sheet metal on the facade lets materiality of the factory blend into the surrounding landscape.'nature' is evoked as a blurred image

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOY8NV-bXy4



blur project,Arteplage Yverdon-les-bians of the swiss national exhibition 2002 by Diller+ Scofidio architects

In this project the visbilty of the structure and the way people perceive it was taken to a higher level. all the visual and acoustic references were erased on entering the mist that the structure created and the senses were blured.In contrast to the traditional pavillions at world exhibitions in which senses are flodded with images, sounds and information,in the interior of the blur there was literally nothing seen. the opposite approach with the minimal technical expenditure to create something so minimal yet spectacular was something that took my intrest in this project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WT5Lu1MKYs



The centerpiece pavilion of the the sixth swiss national exhibition is a suspended platform shrouded in a perpetual cloud of man - made fog, designed by architects elizabeth diller and ricardo scofidio. the cloud can host up to 400 visitors.

 The so called 'blur pavillion' is visible from afar. the building consists of a 60 x 100 x 20 - metre metal construction that sprays innumerable tiny drops of lake water from 31400 jets. the high-pressure spraying technology ensures that the fleeting sculpture will be visible in all weathers, rain or shine.

The high-pressure spraying is carried out by high-grade steel jets with tiny apertures only 120 microns in diameter, through which the water is forced at a pressure of 80 bars onto fine needlepoints directly above the apertures and atomised into innumerable tiny droplets 4 to 10 microns in diameter. the droplets are so small that most of them remain suspended in the air. if sufficient jets are installed in a specific volume, they saturate the air with moisture and create the effect of mist or, in this case, the effect known as the blur.