exhibition
26 June 2013 > 20 October 2013

YAP MAXXI 2013

Carlo Scarpa Room

YAP MAXXI is a programme for the promotion and support of young architecture organized by MAXXI Architettura in association withMoMA/MoMA PS1 of New York, Costructo of Santiago and, for the first time, Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. Each year the programme offers an emerging architectural studio the opportunity to design an installation capable of offering visitors a space for the museum’s summer events and a place with “shade, water and room to relax”.

An international jury has chosen the winning project for YAP MAXXI 2013, the third edition of the competition, from a shortlist of five finalists: the installation He by the Turinese studio bam! bottega di Architettura sostenibile, a large-scale but lightweight piece of architecture that will float in the air above the MAXXI piazza, providing shade and plays of water by day and light by night. The projects by all the finalists will be on show at the same time in the four museums involved.

The He installation will be inaugurated in the MAXXI piazza on 20 June 2013, at the same time as the Party Wall project by CODA (winner of YAP 2013 in New York) in the MoMA/MoMA PS1 courtyard and Sky Spotting Stop by the SO? studio (winner of YAP 2013 in Turkey) in the Istanbul Modern piazza. At Santiago instead, the installation The Garden of Forking Paths by Beal + Lyons Architects (winner of the Chilean edition of YAP 2012) will be inaugurated on 7 March 2013.

HE – THE WINNER

The installation He takes shape in a big suspended volume that through its dimension, the colour, the unusual and playful use of water and shadow, creates an interaction with the outdoor spaces of the museum.The transparency and the apparent lack of weight of this suspended installation generate a dialogue and a stimulating contrast with the imposing mass of the museum and its sinuous forms.

The big volume moves with the wind emphasizing the lightness of the materials it is made of. The colour and the transparency of the materials, in contrast with the mineral nature of the museum, offer astonishing chromatic effects that vary with the changing light, modifying He’s appearance throughout the day.

In the evening, the volume transforms into a big suspended lantern, becoming an unmistakable landmark in the urban context.

The platform underneath offers an area for visitors to relax and enjoy; it becomes a stage for YAP MAXXI events open to both the museum and the surrounding neighbourhood, reshaping the centrality of the piazza.

THE FINALIST