Exhibitions / Events
Installation - 2023
Terra Firma: New Grounds
Terra Firma : NewGrounds is an installation that demonstrates how an ancient construction technique–rammed earth–can contribute to the decarbonization of the building industry. Nine earthen monoliths, 18” in diameter and 8’ tall, are arranged in a 3x3 matrix. Each cylinder has a slightly different material composition of aggregate (stone / gravel) and lime (naturally occurring alternative to cement). Exposed to the elements over the course of several months, each cylinder is weathering differently, making the various engineered compositions of soil visible.
Photo Credits: Thanut Sakdanaraseth
EXHIBITION - SPRING 2023
Fantastic Materials Sibley Hall Exhibition
From natural to synthetic, from nano to macro — materials are a source of inspiration and excitement. As an intrinsic component of good design, material knowledge helps create quality surroundings from everyday objects to buildings. The wealth and variety of today’s material world is the result of millennia of development, and new materials continually emerge. However, it can take decades for a breakthrough invention to move from the laboratory to the building site, and many creative alternatives often only find niche applications.
This exhibition summarizes a semester-long material investigations conducted by 17 participants from AAP (B.Arch, M.Arch, MS.AAD programs) and CALS Colleges, done within the formwork of Fantastic Materials and where to find them elective seminar in Spring 2023.
Photo Credits: JARED COHN, ILANA HAIMES
Exhibition - 2021
“Quo Addis? Conflicts of Coexistence” at 17th International Architecture Exhibition Venice Biennale
The 17th International Architecture Exhibition - Venice Biennale - took place from 22 May to 21 November 2021 in the Arsenale and the Giardini in Venice, Italy. Curator Hashim Sarkis called on architects to imagine spaces in which we can generously live together in different ways, in the context of widening political divides and growing economic inequalities. As part of an intercontinental team spanning ETH Zürich, KIT Karlsruhe, EiABC Addis Ababa and Cornell University, Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel co-developed a contribution titled “Quo Addis? Conflicts of Coexistence”. The resulting urban model of Addis Ababa depicts the historical and architectural development of the Ethiopian capital from the age of Menelik’s empire in the 19th century until today in an abstract and at the same time precise and clear way. The accompanying film produced by Jenny Rodenhouse completes the exhibition and brings the visitor closer to life and coexistence in the different quarters of the city.
Photo Credits: Elena Boerman