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NOAH'S HUT

''Before light, after dark: new explorations of nature in architecture''

Artificial light is an essential part of our modern world. Its overwhelming invasion, on the other hand, suffocates the essence of illumination by reversing the night. It disrupts the rhythms and cycles of both human and non-human worlds, even distancing the night sky and the stars from us. It seeps into every corner of human activity, branching through production and distribution networks while materializing in the built environment.

Design Curatorial Proposal for the Turkish Pavilion at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale

Artificial light is an essential part of our modern world. Its overwhelming invasion, on the other hand, suffocates the essence of illumination by reversing the night. It disrupts the rhythms and cycles of both human and non-human worlds, even distancing the night sky and the stars from us. It seeps into every corner of human activity, branching through production and distribution networks while materializing in the built environment.

The exhibition space is designed  interlocking spaces that connect seamlessly linear progression. The structure draws inspiration from the ‘hut’, with a simple gabled roof, and extends this into a long, ark-like latticed enclosure, made from re-purposed timber. 

The interior spaces consist of four distinctive spaces characterized their functions and specific atmospheres, following the lifecycle of bioluminescent plants and another from light to dark,  and warm to cool. Each distinct area within the exhibition mirrors a room in a house: greenhouse, lab / kitchen, living room and bedroom. The hut archetype serves not only as a physical structure but also as a symbolic framework for the functions of the rooms. 

Illuminating the mesophyll: a sustainable, temporary, non invasive method of bioluminescence.

 

Through the method, the plants are transformed into photonic capacitors capable of absorbing, storing, and re-emitting light. The study demonstrates that these nanoparticles, when sized and coated appropriately, do not harm the plant’s physiological functions, as evidenced by consistent chlorophyll levels and photosynthetic activity over time. The research highlights the potential of using living plants as sustainable, non-toxic alternatives to traditional artificial lighting, offering a novel intersection of nature and technology for optical applications.

TEAM - STRUCTURE
Scenography / Narrators 
Gonca Ank Çalışkan, Elif Simge Fettahoglu,Enise Burcu Derinbogaz
Art Performance/ Artist 
İdil İlkin
 

Exhibition Design/ Architect 
Ali Çalışkan & GEOMIM
Büşra Yılmaz Eda Selçioğlu
Scientific Research/ Scientist 
Michael S. Strano & MIT Department of Chemical Engineering 

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