TEXTILES.ORG
From its forests to its flag, the state of Styria fulfills its reputation as the “green heart of Austria.” Now, a glowing green pavilion is helping tell the region’s story.
Examining the past, present and future of Styria, the “Showing Styria” exhibition is presented in three museums in the city of Graz and a mobile pavilion, which will travel to five different locations in Styria in 2021.
The pavilion, by architect Bettina Zepp, is designed as a double-skin membrane facade. The exterior facade surface consists of green translucent POLYPLAN Candy material from Sattler PRO-TEX, the global coated technical textile supplier based in Austria. Parts of the pavilion include printing with the Styria logo. The second membrane layer is used as a projection surface on the inside. It turns white in the space between it and the outer facade to enable the desired effects of the backlighting. Besides allowing amazing effects in transmitted light, the POLYPLAN Candy fabric was chosen because of its anti-wicking properties, fungicide treatment and for being highly UV resistant as well as flame retardant.
The 800-square-meter (8,611-square-foot) pavilion houses a 50-meter (164-foot) panorama screen that features projected large-format images of Styria, creating a unique spatial experience through the generation of images through light.
“It’s a very modern and dynamic approach to design and mediation that takes new ways of seeing into account and goes far beyond conservative, static museum presentations,” says Günther Gradnig, managing director of Sattler PRO-TEX. “The moving image in connection with the recorded text and sound allows a deep penetration into the topics and is a very emotional experience. The medium of exhibition, as it will be in the future, is anticipated here in an exemplary way.”
