Swiss Pavilion ''The Great Complication'' at Expo 2020 in Dubai
31/07/2017.
[Dubai] United Arab Emirates
metalocus, SARA NÁJAR
metalocus, SARA NÁJAR
Description of the project by HHF
The name of the project derives from the tradition-rich Swiss watch industry. It refers to a complex mechanical movement that, in addition to displaying the time with hour, minute, seconds, also features special supplementary functions — known as complications. Those who enter the Swiss Pavilion do not find themselves inside a Swiss building, but in an opened-up clock mechanism, a well-oiled entertainment machine, in which the wheels and cogs are perfectly coordinated.
Five cylindrical building volumes of different diameters accommodate the spatial program: exhibition areas, a shop and café, a panoramic restaurant, a meditative green space, and the VIP area with rooftop terrace. They are positioned as a loose ensemble on the pavilion grounds, which is freely accessible from all sides. Oversized installations of traditional Swiss instruments — a music box, a panoramic xylophone, and a Schwyzerörgeli parade — are integrated into the drum-like building as mobile elements. Additional single-user installations, such as sound totems, media screens, and listening stations, are distributed across the open site. Large round umbrellas covered with textile patterns from St. Gallen unite the individual building volumes — which vary in height between two and three stories — into a single roof landscape.
The sources for the mechanical aesthetic of the pavilion and its sequences are Jean Tinguely’s kinetic sculptures and the complex, absurd to playful works of Fischli/Weiss. The pavilion takes those kinetic works further, transforming them into a cybernetic sound and multimedia composition that can be manipulated and adapted by its visitors. Architecture, exhibition and outdoor space form a unique Gesamtkunstwerk of Swiss object art, which culminates every hour in a parametric composition — La Grande Complication.
HHF architects is an architectural firm established by Tilo Herlach, Simon Hartmann and Simon Frommenwiler.
Tilo Herlach. He born in 1972 in Zurich, Switzerland. Between 1992 and 1998, Studies in Architecture at ETH Zurich and ETH Lausanne; Masters at ETH Zurich with Prof. Ruggero Tropeano. 1998-2003 Collaboration with d-company, Bern and Rolf Furrer Architekten, Basel. 2003 Founding of HHF architects, Basel. Since 2006 member of the "Board for Urban Planning SIA Basel". Since 2007 Board member of the Berlin Chamber of Architects. 2010 BSA member. 2011 Visiting professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.
Simon Hartmann. He born in 1974 in Bern, Switzerland. Between 1994 and 2000, Studies in Architecture at ETH Lausanne, TU Berlin and ETH Zurich; Masters at EPF Lausanne with Prof. V. Mangeat. 2000-2003 Collaboration with Rolf Furrer Architekten, Basel. 2002-2007 Teaching assistant at the ETH Studio Basel with Prof. Jaques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Roger Diener, Marcel Meili. 2003 Founding of HHF architects, Babel. 2009-2011 Professor at the HTA Fribourg. 2010 BSA member. 2011 Visiting professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Since 2011 Professor at the Joint Master of Architecture course, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Simon Frommenwiler. He born in 1972 in London, United Kingdom. Between 1994 and 2000, Studies in Architecture at ETH Zurich; Masters with Prof. H. Kollhoff. 1997-2003 Collaborations with Bearth & Deplazes, Chur and Skidmore Owings & Merrill, New York, USA. 2003 Founding of HHF architects, Basel. 2005-2007 Teaching assistant at ETH Lausanne with Prof. Harry Gugger. 2010 BSA member. 2011 Professor at the Joint Master of Architecture course, Fribourg. 2011 Visiting professor at the ENSA Strasbourg, France.