Can you design a space for the exhibition of a genre of art that is historically defined by is inability to be framed within the confines of a defined exhibition space?

This project outlines the process and outcomes of an architecture studio that undertakes that core question. It asks students to consider context, and the active role the architect takes in shaping the relationship between art and its exhibition. The primary undertaking of this inquiry is the design of a biennale grounds, anchored by a series of permanent pavilions, for the exhibition of context-specific art.

The group made several extended visit to the 1500 acre project site, as well as a number of precedent projects in Colorado, and New York to understand both the role of exhibition in the presentation of context-specific art, curation, and the back of house operations of similar typologies.

As work on the biennale masterplan developed, students we tasked with staging an exhibition of their research into Land Artists, context responsive design, and the project in development. This provided firsthand experience in curation, as well as a chance to reflect on thier collective work. They moved thier studio work space into the exhibit area for the 3-week duration of the show. This allowed them to test ideas about the relationship between production and exhibition as they developed pavilion designs. The exhibition, as well a other live exercises like a competition and guerilla installation of context responsive artwork in a local creek enriched the learning experience and added depth of understanding to their design responses. It also taught them to view design as active and open to non-traditional critical methodologies.