A pavilion for dancing on the Venice lagoon

Rintala Eggertsson’s contribution to the Biennale 2018 instills new forms of social interactions in the recreational area of Forte Marghera.

Oslo-based firm Rintala Eggertsson designed an ephemeral dance pavilion in Venice’s inlands, in the recreational area of Forte Marghera. The 48 hectares venue corresponds to a nineteenth-century fortress that nowadays serves as location for events and cultural productions. The building, named Corte del Forte, – namely, court of the fortress – is part of a special project commissioned by the curators of this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara.

The centralised layout is arranged according to a regular grid that solidifies into a wooden structure. The intimate space of the walkway - 2.1 metres wide - surrounds the central courtyard; in this space, a textile filter system protects visitors from the sun on hot Venetian summer days.

Coherently with the theme of Freespace, the request of the curators consisted in a pavilion for social activities that could be used as a venue for dance performances and music events. The project tackles the issue of spaces that are open and free to be visited, and constitutes an inversion in the spatial dynamics dominated by economic and hierarchical restraints. Opposite of the former military landscape, Corte del Forte embraces the concept of Freespace as embodiement of the social role of architecture.