Program X-Site seeks to expand the syntax and aesthetics of architecture by presenting an architecturally themed installation in the Museum's outdoor plaza. Work for this limited engagement, experiential event is acquired through a public call for entries and blends art and architecture to encourage new perceptions of spatial relations. This year, 36 entries were received and following two rounds of appraisal, the entry OO by STUDIOLIN was chosen as the winner of the 2018 award. OO is a dynamic installation primarily constructed of scaffolding and corrugated fiber-reinforced plastic sheet, and includes three bubble machines that are anthropomorphized with human names. A construction site is raised to the level of art, and invisible air currents are given visible form. The installation encourages us to reconsider past bodily experiences, to inject some rebellion or doubt into what is assumed to be open or public, and is an accurate response to the theme of In Progress or the renovations at the Museum.

 

The building is just an object, and the events, which are real experiences, are the subject. So, what is an art museum that removes its art for maintenance of its air-conditioning system? What is an art museum plaza without an art museum? What would an X-site architectural installation be in a plaza that has lost its subject?

 

As the Museum's conduit and insulation are being repaired, there is the intense sound of electric drills beating on the concrete, which travels through the floor to your heart. Close your eyes, and in the darkness, recall the space and time that used to exist in the past. The ghosts left behind by the art bring the ladies wearing sheep's ears and tap dancing, and a man with pink skin, wearing a huge pink ceremonial cap and dark pink traditional Scottish plaid clothing, and swinging his head and climbing between the floors. In the next moment, the image is gone, like a bubble, and only white noise from the air-conditioning is left in the empty museum.

 

The bubbles that are produced by mechanical devices and make the flow of air visible are the subject of the installation OO. How can the installation compress and stretch itself between the huge volume of a closed museum and its plaza? In what kind of space will these bubbles exist? Is the space a concrete structure, a steel structure, or a wood structure? This all indicates the sense of weight and time that the material possesses.

 

The use of scaffolding and corrugated sheet, which are vernacular materials eliciting nostalgia for the architect, has mostly to do with their visual effects in combination. Polycarbonate corrugated sheet bends light, and along with the disturbance of compositional balance created by the slender scaffolding, the fiber-reinforced plastic's qualities make it look like both canvas and pigment. These three elements under changing light cause space and vision to overlap in the architectural installation in an extrusion and release pattern that draws the eye from lower to upper, upper to lower, outer to inner, and inner to outer.

 

Due to the Museum renovation, OO escapes the traditional limitations posed on an architectural installation, questions the publicness of a plaza, and explores the imagination of X-site program. The subject was originally an art event in a museum, but now OO is the subject rather than an object. By participating in the events and performances promoted in OO, the public will experience something they have never seen or imagined.

 

★ To ensure audience enjoyment of the installation, the number of visitors is limited to 15 in O1, and 35 in O2. Please line up for entry.

 

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STUDIOLIN is a small-scale architectural design studio established in 2014 in Taipei, Taiwan. The studio's motto is “From Establishing the General to Reveal the Specific.” By participating in the competition, the studio developed the design process of excavating architectural text. The studio has collaborated with different firms to design and implement small and medium public projects, architectural plans, and a few private projects.

 

LIN, Pei-Jung

Lin Pei-Jung graduated from the Architecture Department of Iowa State University with a bachelor's of architecture degree. She worked as an intern at small architectural firms on both the west and east coasts in the United States, gaining experiences in residency design and international competition. After graduating, she started her practice at an architectural firm beside the Mississippi River. In 2009, she returned to Taiwan and entered the workplace to launch a vigorous exploration of architectural practices.

 

Lin Pei-Jung, Tu Chia-Ling

Lee Cheng-Ju (PT), Huang Wei-Che (PT)

 

Integration Consultant: Yah, Fancy (Whyixd Interactive)

Structure: Liu Yao-Yuan (Yuwei Engineering Consultants,ltd)

Scaffolding and Circular Sheet: Huang Sheng-Chi, Ho Tung-Chieh (Sheng Long Co., Ltd.)

Installation Consultants: Hsiao Yu-Chen, Pan Wen-Chang (Machinery); Chang Jun-Wei (Computer Programming)

Installation Collaboration: Hold Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Bubble solution)

Light: Chang Chi-Yang (WEDO)

 

Dimensions: Ø 12m x 10.35m (H) x 2 installations

Materials: FRP corrugated sheet, PC corrugated sheet, scaffolding, bubble installations