The BVLGARI pavilion is a temporary installation commissioned by the luxury jewellery brand for Abu Dhabi Art 2012. As principal sponsors BVLGARI were given a prominent outdoor space at the entrance of the event to create a lounge for VIPs and dignitaries of the art fair. The lounge was conceived as an exclusive and private venue with live music, a bar and a specially curated selection of BVLGARI’s high end jewellery. The project was required to be both representative of the firm’s style and its creative ideologies, whilst being emblematic of a “modern mythology”.
The reapproriation of something mundane and transforming it into something magnificent became the starting point for our design concept. The design of the pavilion aimed to be both reminiscent of BVLGARI’s Italian heritage whilst being representative of its own fabrication and structure. In this sense a certain brutal honesty was desired in the final outcome so that the form was a self supporting entity in itself without the need for a separate internal structure; therefore the form was not merely a decorative veil.
A design based upon the packing of acrylic tubes was devised. Acrylic tubes are an “off-the-shelf” product that comes in set lengths and diameters. Although they have a diverse range of uses they are rarely used as principal architectural elements. By packing them close together not only do they begin to form mass but also provide structural rigidity. Much like the rough gemstone the concept was to slice and cut, smooth and polish the form to result in new spaces and environmental conditions, to reinvent the material as something extraordinary and unique.
Whilst attempting to create a wholly new spatial experience the team was also keen for it to simultaneously be something completely familiar, evocative of BVLGARI’s heritage. In this way it was decided to form arches, arcades and cupolas through the excavation and sculpting. As well as being exposed and translucent this method provided a recognizable enclosure and intimacy all be it an ethereal sensation of it.