All images: Ole Scheeren
Back in March we discovered the ‘Archipelago Cinema’, a floating revival of classic American drive-in theatres designed by Ole Scheeren. The raft-like auditorium had been commissioned to close the final night of the Film on the Rocks Yao Noi Festival in Nai Pi Lae lagoon on Kudo Island, offering guests a primordial experience on the clear blue waters.
Well, Sheeren’s floating cinema is back, having traveled halfway around the world to Venice, where it is being exhibited as one of the 18 Collateral Events at La Biennale di Venezia’s 13th International Architecture Exhibition. The nomadic venue, which has an air of whimsy about it not unlike Aldo Rossi’ s similarly buoyant and cinematic “Teatro del Mondo” from the 1980 Venice Biennale, will join the collection of Collateral Events–semi-autonomous exhibitions and installations–prior to expedition around the world.
The modular raft will be anchored in the historic shipyard of the Darsena Grande of the Arsenal and will serve as a public platform for events, while also hosting the world premiere of the Horst Brandenburg’s documentary.visual essay ‘Against All Rules’. Branderburg’s latest film will give new insight into the work of ex-OMA’er Ole Scheeren, spanning the last six years of the architect’s life and career. A filmmaker and architecture enthusiast, Brandenburg has stated that Scheeren, through such iconic work as the recently-completed CCTV, designed in collaboration with Rem Koolhaas, “has come to stand for what architects have to fulfill beyond primary function: a promise, an aim, a dream, or a vision of the future at the beginning of the 21st century.”
The film will premiere on August 27th in Venice, with additional showings following in the days to come before embarking on an international journey that will see the structure attending various film festivals around the globe.
Scheeren’s “Archipelago Cinema” moored at the Nai Pi Lae lagoon on Kudo Island in March