ANORAK

SCHUNCK* pavilion

The column is the architectonic element that we have chosen as the basis for the SCHUNCK* pavilion; in a conceptual and narrative dimension related to the architectural history of the Glaspaleis in Heerlen, as well as in a pragmatic constructive approach.

While considered as a fundamental element throughout the global history of architecture, in the case of the Glaspaleis built by Frits Peutz in 1935, the column embodies its very identity. The SCHUNCK* pavilion is very much inscribed in this narrative, although it does not engage the question in a literal way. Considered as a starting point, the project explores the possibilities of this specific constructive element to reach a high-level quality of exhibition display, through various typologies and configurations. It primarily is a project about space and how it can be used by a cultural institution to represent itself.

36 white-steel columns constitute the pavilion. They can be assembled in different configurations, according to curatorial and site-specific aspects: compact, around an enclosed or open-to-one-side patio, linear or in a zig-zag manner. Each of these columns consists of a floor piece, a vertical structural element and a ceiling-roof top. Prefabricated, these 3 separate parts are transported - compact on trucks - and then assembled on site. Collected on every roof top, the water is evacuated through the vertical element. A series of prefabricated thin-folded perspex sheets form the facade; fully transparent at the lower half, opening up the exhibition to the public domain, while the translucent upper part encloses the room, shaping the contours of the space itself.

The floor is resistant enough to support the weight of heavy oeuvres; exhibition panels - for display - can be added between the columns if needed; artworks can be hung from the ceiling. In case of a patio-configuration, the open-sky courtyard.