On the occasion of the Nordic biennial of contemporary art "Momentum 11: House of Commons", the Mexican studio S-AR has developed a project of three temporary wooden structures on the island of Jeløya in the Oslo Fjord.

The three striking temporary wooden pavilions are the Platform Pavilion, Staircase Pavilion, and Cylinder Pavilion. They are intended to become places of interaction, a neutral backdrop that at the same time presents a variety of ways of seeing to reconnect with the environment.
Produced from local wood and recycled materials, the pavilions designed by S-AR are designed to avoid causing permanent damage to the site. Furthermore, they are respectfully placed in the natural landscapes of Alby and Alby Park on the island of Jeløya. 

The pavilions are intended to generate different moments of contemplation, perception, appreciation, and interpretation, both of the environment and of the artistic interventions with which they can dialogue.
 

Description of project by S-AR

S-AR has developed a project of three temporary wooden structures for HOUSE OF COMMONS. These pavilions are respectfully placed in the natural landscapes at Alby and in the Alby Park on the island of Jeløya. Produced from local wood and recycled materials, they are designed to avoid causing any permanent damage. Each will be used to present projects and performances over the course of the biennale. The Platform Pavilion is placed in a dense spruce forest and houses the work of Siri Hermansen. The Staircase Pavilion is situated below Alby Farm, where a former workers’ home was located, and it houses the work of Daisuke Kosugi. The Cylinder Pavilion is located in Alby Park and will host local projects, mediation, outreach and education activities.

These three wooden structures sitting in the open, surrounded by nature make up the pavilions for the Momentum biennale in its 11th edition.

The intention is for these to be places for interaction, a quiet background for visitors and ideas to converge while presenting a variety of perspectives for meeting its surroundings.

A particular situation takes place in each pavilion. An enclosed happening meets the open sky at the Cylinder Pavilion, a circular boundary defines inside and outside. The discovery of a sieved view at the Stairs Pavilion, a stair contained in a wooden cage. A confrontation between open and closed occurs at the Platform Pavilion, an exhibition space contained in an open lookout.

The constructive quality of these structures is defined by assembly and repetition of components. The main structures are built with single modules made of pine wood studs and planks repeated and positioned to create the enclosure, favoring a simple and logical construction.

Pine wood was chosen as the main construction material in accordance to both the natural condition of the site and the ephemeral quality of the event. Through time it is intended for wood to decay, to show the effect of the elements and become ever changing structures. 

Nature elements: light, air, matter, distance…
Constructive elements: pieces, platforms, lattices, assembles…
Symbolic architecture elements: stairs, windows, doors…
Geometric elements: square, triangle, circle, cylinder…

These are the archetypal concepts present in the project for several pavilions on the island of Jeløya, in Norway.

3 pavilions that expect the generation of different moments of contemplation, perception, appreciation and interpretation of the surroundings as well from the artistic interventions that may dialogue through its vital time.

3 pavilions are proposed as constructive exercises made with different elements of wood with dissimilar arrangements. The creation of a circuit of spaces to stay, rest, lookout, circulations and courses through them; all connected.

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Architects
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Design team
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Architects in charge.- César Guerrero, Ana Cecilia Garza.
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Collaborators
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Collaborators.- Carlos Morales, María Sevilla, Naarahí Rojas. Curator and Curatorial concept.- Théo-Mario Coppola. Associate curator, outreach.- Håkon Lillegraven. Biennale director.- Dag Aak Sveiner. Head of production.- Eivind Karlsen – Galleri F 15
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Builder
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Petter Johansen – Thu & Johansen.
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Area
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Construction area.- 265 sqm.
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Dates
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Project.- 2020. Construction.- 2021.
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Materials
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Materials.- Local wooden boards, lumbers and planks. Constructive system.- assembles with screws and glues. Finishes.- planed wood with natural finished.
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Location
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Jeløya, Moss, Norway.
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Photography
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Eivind Lauritzen – Galleri F 15.
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Video
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Texas Moss – Galleri F 15.
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S-AR is an architectural design studio based in Mexico (Monterrey and Mexico City) led by architects César Guerrero and Ana Cecilia Garza

Their work focuses on the design and development of architectural projects of several scales and typologies from private, experimental and social houses to architectural installations, educational buildings and design of furniture and other objects including books and independent publications about architecture.

S-AR´s work has been awarded the Emerging Voices Award by The Architectural League of New York (New York, U.S.A., 2016), the Design Vanguard Award by Architectural Record for emerging architects (New York, U.S.A., 2013), the Dwell Design Award by Dwell Magazine for the Best Dwelling (San Francisco, U.S.A., 2020), the Blueprint Award by Blueprint Magazine for the Best Small Project (London, U.K., 2020) and the 1st. Place in the XXI Cemex Building National Award 2012 (Mexico, 2012). They received the Young Artists Grant “Jovenes Creadores” CONACULTA – FONCA (Arts and Culture Mexican Council, Mexico, 2009) and they were part of the exhibition Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling at MoMA – Museum of Modern Art (New York, U.S.A., 2007). The studio received an Award of Merit in the 2020 AZ Awards (Toronto, Canada, 2020) and an Honorable Mention in the AN Best of Design Awards by The Architect´s Newspaper (New York, U.S.A., 2020). S-AR has been nominated for the 2014 Ibero-American Architecture Biennial Award  (Rosario, Argentina, 2014) and for the 2019 Ibero-American Architecture Biennial Award  (Asuncion, Paraguay, 2019), and selected -Emerging Designer- in the Present for the Arts in Mexico by La Tempestad Magazine of Arts (Mexico, 2014), selected to represent Mexico in the BAL – Latin-American Biennial of Architecture (Mexico – Spain – LATAM, 2015) and selected to be part of the Mexico´s Pavilion in the 15 and 16 Mostra Internazionale di Architettura di Venezia – 15th and 16th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale (Mexico – Italy, 2016 / 2018).
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