Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion

Chanel Mobile Art pavilion, firstly presented at the 2007 Venice Biennale, was commissioned by Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s creative director to the Iraqi-born British Architect Zaha Hadid.
The original idea was to create a travelling exhibition space that would host “Mobile Art”, a collection of works by 20 artists, all inspired by the iconic quilted bag of Chanel.

The pavilion, that links a robust primary structure of 74t with the lightness of a fiber re-enforced plastic roof, was created in such a way to be moved easily and assembled in a week time.
Since its inauguration in 2008, the pavilion has been installed in Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York and finally since 2011 it has been donated to the Arab World Institute in Paris.
The Zaha Hadid fluid and dynamic structure gives a continuous sense of movement thanks to the natural geometries and the light, both artificial and natural, that flowing through the arches translate the sculptural mass of the pavilion into sensual elegance, as the Chanel’s creations.

The dreamy structure offers an evolving landscape for the artists’ works, where the lights varying in shape and color, as well as the spatial rhythm given by the seams of each segment , allow it to adapt to changing exhibitions ,and evokes to the visitors that sense of newness and strangeness typical of visiting a new country .
An internal courtyard of 65 sq ,with transparent openings to the sky as well as a 128 sq terrace host events and complete the structure reflecting intermediate spaces between the exterior and interior.

Photographer: Stefan Tuchila