“Element of Architecture”: between tradition and innovation

We have already spoken of “Fundamentals”, the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale, cared by the Dutch archi-star Rem Koolhaas, that a few weeks after opening, is proving a big success with critics and audiences.

Today we want to focus on what happens at the Central Pavilion in the Giardini, right in the heart of the exhibition.

Here there is “Elements of Architecture”, where the curator with a brave choice – it would have been much easier to dedicate the main area to the big projects or civil society issues – has collected all those elements that are not always valued, but they represent the base and the daily work of any architect: doors, ceilings, walls, windows, stairs, corridors, balconies, bathrooms, etc..

And, of course, the floor.

We then move into the “Floor Room” where the raised floor Nesite was installed.

As in the other rooms of the exhibition, also here the visitor is immersed in an intriguing mix of ancient and contemporary, artistic ambitions and common tools, tradition and innovation.

The floor is sometimes considered just a flat slab on which to walk, here, instead, it becomes the foundation on which to build and enhance fragments of history, like a Venetian mosaic or an Afghan prayer rug, or some Uzbek tiles. It feels like being inside a song by an eccentric singer and instead we are in the place where all the experts and enthusiasts come together to understand the directions of world architecture.

The “Floor Room” was entirely paved with raised covered with anti-static vinyl, one of the most popular materials used for equipment rooms and offices, where the raised floor is normally used.

Only a small area of the room is rather devoid of panels, allowing the visitor to discover what lies beneath our floor! The perfect design of the system, integrated with the galvanized steel structure complete with stringers, gives stability to the whole, but allows maximum flexibility of the space redesign according to the new requirements.

And who said that a floor have to be an anonymous floor surface and cannot be fun? In this room children, but also (especially?) adults, do not resist the temptation to try Energy Floors, a small dance area capable of generating energy.

But a few inches back from this small play area you can find again Nesite floor, even in its glass version, ideal to show the original floor or to give prestige to any room.

The Biennale is the place where past and present come together to provide ideas and suggestions for the future. Nesite is proud to be present, but, above all, is ready to meet this challenge.