sauerbruch hutton's oxymoron installation combines solid timber with a translucent pattern

at the venice biennale, sauerbruch hutton creates an installation that condenses the architectural themes of the studio’s recently completed M9 museum district in venice’s mestre area. ‘oxymoron’ is a small space enclosed by a timber framework featuring an opaque lower part, and an upper section with a pattern of colored weaves that contrasts the strict geometry of the frame and radiates a seductive glow.

part of the FREESPACE exhibition at the biennale’s arsenale venue, the installation showcases how sauerbruch hutton‘s M9 incorporates the theme of free space, where it creates as a liminal zone between the public and the private spheres, offering itself for occupation. inside oxymoron, the colored pattern seems to ‘explode’ the physical confines while large black and white photographs on the lower part appear to expand the space. in a similar way, the spaces of M9 are informed through their material and chromatic presence, actively engaging the visitor in a play between visual perception and haptic reality.