EU Pavilion : A new flag & open air space
2021 | Venice, Italy | 400 sqm | Exhibition | Team : Plan Común (Kim Courrèges, Felipe De Ferrari, Sacha Discors, Nissim Haguenauer) | Collaborators : Mariam Kurtishvili, Marion Carvalho
STATEMENT
1. Before we start designing anything, we need to critically review the conditions of the European project.
2. The EU -in its current shape- is an outdated device with an outdated symbol : 12 golden stars representing a pointless idea of "perfection".
3. The reinforcement of EU’s identity is welcome only if it is put to question with the objective to dismantle a history of moral superiority and radical colonialism.
4. The Venice Biennale doesn’t need new pavilions to reinforce the presence and image of a global elite.
A NEW FLAG & OPEN AIR SPACE
The proposal offers a new image by transforming its main symbol, the EU flag, and its translation into space for direct commonalities.
This will is defined by the coexistence of 10 expressive infrastructural elements carefully placed on site and defining a specific composition:
Foundation Stone: An artificial micro-hill, associated to a prefabricated straight stair, is built by just reusing what is available on site -the rubbles and waste from previous events- and allowing weeds to grow over it.
Platforms: Two plinths flank the hill. They are not tables nor benches. A triangular podium is located in the N-E corner of the site, the most intense in terms of pedestrian flows.
Resources: The open structure also integrates a linear water pond in between the existing trees, refreshing the air during spring and summer, an exterior kitchen -with access to free water- and a recycling point.
Open Displays: The system is consolidated with a totem to be cladded with information and a capable rail framing the intervention, integrating a roof, lightning, projection screens, vaporizers and a display for exhibiting diverse material.
With these different devices, the proposal attempts to question the existing image of EU, embracing beauty, plurality, complexity and contradiction through a prototype of collective space, a resting space in the exhausting context of the Venice Biennale.