Angelus Novus
Video by SOM
Venice
May 2023
Part of the European Cultural Centre’s 6th Edition of “Time Space Existence” in Venice, the installation allows visitors to experience a self-balancing vault structure created by applying new technology to traditional construction methods. CERCAA worked on this project to build the 2000 bricks vault. Angelus Novus was led by researchers and designers from the Form Finding Lab worked with SOM, and researchers from University of Bergamo, University of Salerno, and IE University to use advanced digital methods to generate a self-balancing sculptural shape tailored to the site, the gardens of Venice’s Palazzo Mora. A prototype vault was previously built and tested at IE University’s campus in Segovia, Spain.
The doubly-curved form of the installation in Venice was constructed using a novel mixed-reality construction approach. A data-driven augmented reality (AR) interface enabled a skilled mason to guide the placement of each brick in a complex geometric pattern, reducing time spent reading construction drawings and assembling on-site guide work.
