The Saltwater Pavilion evolved as a three-dimensional computer model from the very start of the design process. We morphed, stretched, bent, re-scaled, styled, polished, scripted and programmed.
The delineation of the form is laid down in the digital genes of the design that hold the germ of life. the first idea is the genetic starting point for all subsequent steps in the development. We no longer accept the domination of platonic volumes, the simplistic geometry of cube, sphere, cylinder and cone as the basic elements of architecture. That resolution is much too low. Our computers allow us to command millions of coordinates describing far more complex geometries. the form gene underlying the Saltwater Pavilion’s shape is an octogonal, faceted ellipse which gradually transmogrifies into a quadrilateral along a three-dimensional curved path.
Hydra | In the wet atmosphere of the belly the glowing Hydra thrives like a giant seaweed, one gets tangled in the many loops of the Hydra. The Hydra is constantly changing color and brightness, sounds travels through its entire length. The Hydra is a continuous object connecting the lower and the upper level, its multiple lines tracing through the entire pavilion. The Hydra is a direct translation of an intuitive three-dimensional sketch by Ilona Lénárd.
The Hydra keeps following the visitor, sometimes as a structural element, sometimes as an interface, always transmitting information in the form of sound and light. Within the Hydra multicoloured fibre optics and series of multimedia speakers are the carriers of information. All fibres and speakers are individually controlled by a central computer, which reacts to visitors, changing weather conditions and pre-programmed algorithms.