Biennale Pavillon

The swatch pavilion for the Biennale 2011 at the Giardini was conceived by 3deluxe as an open air living room, intended for relaxed encounters in the middle of the park landscape of the Giardini. The white colouring as well as the delicacy and unobtrusiveness of all design elements communicate the Swatch brand philosophy in a fresh and contemporary manner. Paramount was the creation of a pleasant and communicative space; the lounge does without offensive product presentations in favour of an appealing appearance of the brand. The lounge can be seen as a reference to the architecture of the Biennale pavilions of the 60ies and 70ies; it transfers their formal language into an open and free flowing 3deluxe-style and blends in harmonically with the park landscape.

The pavilion architecture, realised entirely in white, consists of an airy canopy, supported by a number of slender pillars resting on a landscape of individually shaped, terrace-like platforms. Moveable curtains suspended from the canopy roof allow for the pavilion to be closed; their lightness and movement in the wind emphasize the delicate nature of the pavilion architecture.

The terrace landscape offers numerous seats and possibilities to rest and relax and turns the interior of the booth into a space for mellow lingering and contemplation. Two light installations were specially conceived for this project as an interpretation of Time: A rectangular corpus of white mineral material is back milled with a linear structure. An array of LED strips of various lengths light this pattern from behind, the soft flow programming creating a surprising effect on the plain wall surface. Ever new patterns run over it in irregular intervals, suggesting the passing of time. Another light installation is integrated into a blossom shaped ceiling arrangement suspended from the ceiling.

Also incorporated into the back wall are a number of glass displays presenting Swatch products, as well as iPads providing information about swatch products, events and the entire swatch universe.