Snowed under: in deepest Lapland, architecture and the elements interact with some intriguing effects

Architectural Review, The, March, 2004 by Michael Webb

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that most architects are control freaks and hate sharing responsibility for their buildings. How remarkable, therefore, that New York art curator Lance Fung persuaded 15 adventurous firms to collaborate with artists they didn't know, and design structures of materials they had never used on sites they had never seen and were unlikely to visit. The product of that experiment is the Snow Show, which is on view through March in Kemi and Rovaniemi, two remote towns in Finnish Lapland.

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The project, and trial structures by Steven Holl and Asymptote, were described in this section a year ago (AR April 2003). At that time, it was hoped that the event would comprise 30 exhibits, evenly divided between the two venues, but a shortage of funds and a tight construction schedule impelled Fung to reduce the number to 17, two of which are competition-winning student entries. The scaling-back was prudent, for winter arrived late this year, snow was initially scarce, and several projects were incomplete when the show opened in mid February. The hazards of moving too quickly were demonstrated at the preview when the Future Systems + Anish Kapoor structure--which resembled a whale modelled from strawberry sorbet--exploded. The wrong lighting system had been installed, and it overheated the fragile ice shell.

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It required a leap of imagination--especially for participants from hot countries--to imagine the frigid beauty of the landscape, and to create work that would become an integral part of it. The Athens-based firm of Anamorphosis and New York artist Eva Rothschild did just that in their stylized Greek theatre, with its cascade of ice shards spilling over compressed snow bleachers, and curved transparent walls that suggest a stage set. It nestles into a slope as do the sun-baked stones of Attica, but it exploits the cool, low sunlight and the translucency of ice to achieve an entirely different effect.

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A similar emphasis on light and materiality distinguished several other entries. Arata Isozaki and Yoko Ono collaborated on a labyrinth, which she calls a 'penal colony', comprising four concentric walls of greenish ice blocks, stepping down from 10m to 2.5m in height at the centre. From the outside, it appears as a shimmering cube; as you step through the opening the walls seem to press in, blocking your path, leading you into confined spaces and instilling a sense of terror. In contrast, Tadao Ando's curved tunnel of transparent blocks provides an exhilarating promenade in which you are always aware of the world beyond. In this ideal fusion of art and architecture, Tatsuo Miyajima embedded diagonal bands of digital numbers that glow through the ice like tiny points of fire.

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By chance or choice, the balance between art and architecture shifts as you move from one piece to another. Juhani Pallasmaa encouraged Rachel Whiteread to make the first move, and housed her recreation of an East London residential staircase within 'a mute container of the articulated interior--a rare instance of an architect eliminating himself', as he remarked. Paired with Williams & Tsien, Carsten Holler took the lead by proposing converging slides--a device he has employed as a short-cut in real buildings--and the architects incorporated this adult playground within a raised podium of compressed snow that is as enigmatic as Pallasmaa's pentagon, until you reach the point of entry. Kiki Smith's cut-out stainless figures are elegantly backlit in a disc of ice but it's hard to discern Lebbeus Woods' contribution.

In contrast, Enrique Norten's coloured monoliths and the quintet of ice lanterns by Hollmen Reuter Sandman are self-sufficient, and the words that artists have added seem superfluous. The beauty and mystery of these objects derive from their material and its transmutation from liquid to solid. The knowledge that all these structures are ephemeral was dramatically reinforced on the first night, when Cai Guo-Qiang set fire to Zaha Hadid's stepped horseshoes of ice and snow. This monumental work began to resemble a baked Alaska as flaming vodka coursed from the upper levels, eroding the terraces, and prompting the fire brigade to join the eager spectators.

The Snow Show runs until 31 March www.thesnowshow.net