DOES WOOD ALWAYS HAVE TO BE WOODEN?*
Exhibition design
Concept/planning/implementation of a competitive exhibition focusing on innovations using wood from Switzerland
The Association of Swiss Interior Designers and Architects (VSI.ASAI.) organised a design competition among the three technical colleges for interior design focusing on the use of wood from Switzerland. The top nine entries were judged and subsequently exhibited at the Gewerbemuseum Winterthur.
The main challenge in designing the exhibition was the unfamiliarity with the exhibits. A flexible design was needed in order to structure the space without creating an air of rivalry between the individual, unknown and potentially very different, student exhibits.
From a visual perspective, the exhibition concept intentionally places wood in the background, thus its presence is purely associative. A bright green carpet covers the parquet floor. This conjures up images of moss and grass. Steles give off the scent of freshly felled timber. The five hanging cubes equivalent in size to a stere and covered with vinyl mesh lend structure to the space. On closer inspection, the fine pattern turns out to be the profiles of logs. Exhibition boards are hung on both sides of the back-lit cubes, whilst the models are placed on simple stands or on the floor. The exhibition is both structural and aesthetic and should be interpreted as a content-driven statement.
Gewerbemuseum Winterthur – "Achtung Holz!", CH-Winterthur
