synopsis

 

The "Deep into the Surface" short-film, directed by Claudio Esposito and produced by The Piranesi Experience in collaboration with The Architecture Player, investigates the abstract and conceptual dimension that architect Giovanni Vaccarini imparted to the façade system that characterizes the building of the SPG Headquarters in Geneva. A game made of simple rules, whose reiteration produces a complex play of elements to the point that its perception varies with weather and lights. The photography by Fabio Paolucci and the original soundtrack by Populous underline the exploration of these qualities and let the spectator perceive the depth of the surface and its apparent movement.

A slow travel into an evanescent building.

Let's start a slow journey into the materiality of an evanescent building. This short film, made by The Piranesi Experience to introduce the Société Privée de Gérance Headquarters in Geneva designed by Giovanni Vaccarini Architects, can be seen as a counterpoint to the edifice's composition. By disclosing architectural solutions in detail and by exploring the apparent movements generated by optical effects, the film introduces the building as an object whose perception is continuously changing.

The reconversion and extension of the former building started with the definition of a sophisticated architectural envelope which transformed the headquarters into a volume with vibratile materiality and seemingly elusive outlines: a device that promotes the energy efficiency of the building. Architect Giovanni Vaccarini describes the new façade a "Deep Surface", made possible by a triple layer of glass to which a fourth layer is added that includes a ventilated chamber containing the package of micro-perforated Venetian blinds to regulate the light. Brise-soleil screens made of screen-printed glass are anchored on the outside, giving the façade's external surface a variable modular pattern in terms of both the panel dimensions and the design on their surface. The screen-printed graphic element on the screening panels helps to emphasize the reverberation effect produced, softening the perimeter surface of the building in a sort of evanescent and bright "nebula". Seen from the inside, the glass envelope produces an e ect that Giovanni Vaccarini describes as the "augmented window", through which the view of the environment surrounding the building is amplified, reflected and transformed by the blades of light.

Among the main references for the project, the architect often recalls his interest in the early experiments made by Kandinsky who intended to put Abstract Art in relationship with time, opening up a direction of research that finally evolved into Kinetic Art. This suggestion is confirmed indeed by the short film: the geometric and regular texture of the printed glass, through the moving image, makes it possible to perceive the building as an abstract and changeable object according to the chosen point of view and the camera movements.

synopsis

 

The "Deep into the Surface" short-film, directed by Claudio Esposito and produced by The Piranesi Experience in collaboration with The Architecture Player, investigates the abstract and conceptual dimension that architect Giovanni Vaccarini imparted to the façade system that characterizes the building of the SPG Headquarters in Geneva. A game made of simple rules, whose reiteration produces a complex play of elements to the point that its perception varies with weather and lights. The photography by Fabio Paolucci and the original soundtrack by Populous underline the exploration of these qualities and let the spectator perceive the depth of the surface and its apparent movement.

A slow travel into an evanescent building.

Let's start a slow journey into the materiality of an evanescent building. This short film, made by The Piranesi Experience to introduce the Société Privée de Gérance Headquarters in Geneva designed by Giovanni Vaccarini Architects, can be seen as a counterpoint to the edifice's composition. By disclosing architectural solutions in detail and by exploring the apparent movements generated by optical effects, the film introduces the building as an object whose perception is continuously changing.

The reconversion and extension of the former building started with the definition of a sophisticated architectural envelope which transformed the headquarters into a volume with vibratile materiality and seemingly elusive outlines: a device that promotes the energy efficiency of the building. Architect Giovanni Vaccarini describes the new façade a "Deep Surface", made possible by a triple layer of glass to which a fourth layer is added that includes a ventilated chamber containing the package of micro-perforated Venetian blinds to regulate the light. Brise-soleil screens made of screen-printed glass are anchored on the outside, giving the façade's external surface a variable modular pattern in terms of both the panel dimensions and the design on their surface. The screen-printed graphic element on the screening panels helps to emphasize the reverberation effect produced, softening the perimeter surface of the building in a sort of evanescent and bright "nebula". Seen from the inside, the glass envelope produces an e ect that Giovanni Vaccarini describes as the "augmented window", through which the view of the environment surrounding the building is amplified, reflected and transformed by the blades of light.

Among the main references for the project, the architect often recalls his interest in the early experiments made by Kandinsky who intended to put Abstract Art in relationship with time, opening up a direction of research that finally evolved into Kinetic Art. This suggestion is confirmed indeed by the short film: the geometric and regular texture of the printed glass, through the moving image, makes it possible to perceive the building as an abstract and changeable object according to the chosen point of view and the camera movements.