IN(N)TERVALS ANNIKA // Design Studio '23

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Seeking to introduce improbability and to puncture the facade, Vito Acconci and Steven Holl challenged this symbolic border which underlines the exclusivity of the art world, where only those on the inside belong. Using a hybrid material comprised of concrete mixed with recycled fibers, Holl and Acconci inserted a series of hinged panels arranged in a puzzle-like configuration. When the panels are locked in their open position, the facade dissolves and the interior space of the gallery expands out on to the sidewalk.

Reich für die Insel (RFDINSEL) is a so-called offspace, a space that offers non-commercial and independent exhibition spaces. The focus is on performances, exhibitions or music presentations. So behind the not very conspicuous cube lies a far greater intention to engage with the people of Innsbruck and anyone else interested.

The Irish Architecture Foundation’s contribution to the 2008 Venice Biennale was an exhibition called “The Lives of Spaces”. Architects Patrick Lynch and Simon Walker contributed a collaborative project on the subject of Bótharbui, a holiday home in West Cork designed in the 1960’s by Simon’s father, Robin Walker.

They renovated three already existing cottages and built three new ones in addition. Lynch said described the cottages as "[...] a modern version of a traditional villa: a place for serious cultural exchange and play, a salon as much as a retreat."

"Following Robin Walker’s “design method”, Bótharbuí is not conceived as an objective, geometric composition, but as a happening, a confluence of physical and perceptual phenomena. It represents a multiplicity of microcosms, each one with its own distinct, topological attributes. Any single spatial understanding is broken down into a sequence of different autonomous structures and rooms, organized according to variable positions within the terrain. The site sets up a classical dynamic, a precarious, shifting relationship between the building and the mountainside."

"[...] the original cottage and stone sheds, which orients and guides the actions of the inhabitants. We can see that, in its juxtaposition of ancient and modern forms, Bótharbuí confronts the memory of the past with a new topological spatial order."