3XN/GXN has just opened its exhibition “Aware: Architecture and Senses,” hosted at the Danish Architecture Center until September 15th, 2024. The display invites visitors to explore, comprehend, and interrogate their relationships with architecture. In collaboration with the Danish Architecture Center, 3XN/GXN delves into the conversation between individuals and spaces, showcasing six life-sized installations.
Based on the concept of architecture and its permanence in people’s lives, the display questions how attuned humans are to architecture’s impacts on human behavior, movements, thoughts, and emotions. As architecture is where we reside, work, dine, and socialize, the exhibition is birthed around the concept that architecture is “what we travel to and what we journey between.” The exhibition hopes to acknowledge architecture’s lasting influence on our daily lives by exploring the interconnectedness between humans, architecture, and the environment.
Design choices are never merely aesthetic – they fundamentally influence our lives and affect our experiences, architecture shapes our behaviour. Are you – are we - aware of how? — Kim Herforth Nielsen, 3XN Founder and Creative Director.
Throughout the showcase, visitors are immersed in six life-sized installations. These installations explore the fundamentals of architecture—the relationships between human bodies and spatial configurations, between ambiance and emotional responses—prioritizing the visitors' spatial experiences over simple form or function.
According to 3XN/GXN, “Architecture can thrill you or awe you, calm you down or foster connection. It can be caring and protective – _or stimulate your curiosity, igniting idle senses and unfolding unseen worlds.” The installations at "Aware" invite viewers to observe and consider how environments shape moods and atmospheres by drawing inspiration from ideas and designs investigated by 3XN/GXN. For example, a staircase can connect levels and create a transitional area that encourages spontaneous meetings. In contrast to the current tendency of indoor life, the exhibition uses natural materials and organic forms to stimulate primitive links to the environment. Additionally, familiarity is tested by subtly altering traditional architectural features, leading investigations in unexpected directions.
As they move through the installations, visitors are given an inside look at the current research, projects, and advancements that inform the displayed places. Additionally, every space in the showcase aims to question and reshape traditional architectural assumptions while offering new perspectives on oneself and the surroundings.
Claiming that 70% of the world's population is expected to live in cities by 2050 and predicting a 10 billion-person population rise worldwide, the exhibition addresses the pressing challenge of balancing population development with environmental effect mitigation. Since construction now accounts for about 40% of yearly CO2 emissions, the display explores how expansion and sustainability can be balanced.
For many, sustainability conjures an image of a certain kind of architecture; one with a specific appearance and a measurably low footprint. However, sustainability is also about the ability to last over time – a capacity in architecture often at the mercy of changing tastes and perceived needs. 3XN/GXN believes sustainability is essential to architectural duty in the modern world. “For many, sustainability conjures an image of a certain kind of architecture; one with a specific appearance and a measurably low footprint. But sustainability is also about the ability to last over time – a capacity in architecture often at the mercy of changing tastes and perceived needs.”
Architecture exhibitions serve as vital platforms for encouraging the understanding and appreciation of the relationship between the built environments and human experiences. In other similar recent news, MVRDV presented a new exhibition at the Shenzhen Women & Children’s Center. “ReviveR” focuses on the different narratives surrounding its hosting building, from the role of play to the importance of fun environments for all ages. Similarly, Henning Larsen opened the exhibition “Changing our Footprint also at the Danish Architecture Center in Copenhagen, showcasing ideas for more climate-friendly architecture. Finally, The Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning in China recently opened an exhibition titled “Ma Yansong: Landscapes in Motion.” The retrospective showcases the work of MAD Architects, spanning nearly two decades and 52 projects.
