VENICE BIENNALE 2023

In 2023, QOOP sponsored the Greek participation of the Venice Biennale with the theme ‘Bodies of water’, the work of the curators Kostis Panigyris and Andreas Nikolovyenis.

The context of the sponsorship included the application study and the manufacture of the metal elements for the suspension of the crystals - which were central exhibits of the proposal - and was completed with their placement in the Greek pavilion at Gardini in Venice.

The project had two demanding elements, the distance of the production from the final destination and the extremely compressed time of execution of the works on site, 5 days in total. The lack of possibility to accurately measure the space, added another difficulty to the design where the flexibility in the adaptation of the manufactured elements was foreseen.

In collaboration with the curators, the exact positions of the crystals in the space were defined and then the metal ceiling grid was designed from which 4 to 6 meter long metal strings would be suspended at specific points that would carry the crystals of size 1.00x2.00m and weighing 60kg each. The grid was designed based on the specifications of the floating cranes of Venice that would transport the frames to the Greek pavilion, related to the weight and sizes of the elements.

The roof grid was divided into 8 pieces of size 2.50x2.50m on average and made from 70x30x3mm hollow beams, where longitudinal holes were drilled in them to connect the 8 elements to each other and transverse holes for the positions of the strings. Special components, manufactured and designed, were used for the suspension of the grid from the roof truss, the connections of the strings to each other, the conversion of single to double suspension and the spacers between the crystals.

The exhibition opened on May 20 and ended on November 26, 2023.