Miilu is a wooden site specific installation next to the Nordic Pavilion, offering an informal meeting place for visitors in the Venice Biennale. The work consists of layered sawn timber of different dimensions. The material becomes not only the structure, but also an interior space with benches, a decorative presentation of wood inspired by marble layers in Italian churches and Venetian blinds, plus finally a light installation during the evenings. Moreover, the idea behind the structural principle comes from the Nordic Pavilion beside.
The design and building took place during 4 days on site. Due to strict Venetian fire regulations and general fear of this element of nature, the fire burned only for some minutes.
The name Miilu is Finnish and stands for an archaic wooden pile structure made to produce tar.
The project continues the Biennale theme *People meet in Architecture*, and is in fact one of the only spaces created for coming together in the exhibition.
Technical information:
Client: Swedish Museum of Architecture, Norwegian Museum of Architecture and Finnish
Museum of Architecture
Curators: Karin Åberg Wærn, Eva Madshus, Kristiina Nivari, Anders Johanson / Testbedstudio and
Tor Lindstad / Economy
Design: Rintala Eggertsson Architects – Sami Rintala, Dagur Eggertsson, Vibeke Jenssen, Kaori
Watanabe and Ingrid Londono.
Footprint area: 4,0 m x 4,0 m = 16,0 m2
Height: 4,0 m
Materials: Wood – 6,16 m3
Sponsors: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign affairs / Norsk Form – travels and transportation costs
Building team: Chiara Cabrini, Michele Corno, Guglielmo Comini, Rathi Devi Easwaran, Dagur
Eggertsson, Ingvild Eikefjord, Linda Johansson Folgero, Edoardo Giancola, Angelika
Huebauer, Vibeke Jenssen, Leoni Hellen Kämmer, Elina Goksøyr Leine, Ingrid Londono,
Celine Marchi, Paolo Mestriner, Sara Omassi, Espen Steinsvik Normann, Virgile
Ponsoye, Audun Reinaas, Sami Rintala, Massimiliano Spadoni, Kaori Watanabe, Yeiri
Yu, Frederico Zarattini.
Additional help: Elisa da Todo and Ross Hamilton