This temporary pavilion in Salzburg, designed by Soma Architecture, presents unique venue for contemporary art production in the city known for its classical music events. The main user of the structure was a contemporary music festival – the Salzburg Biennale and during next ten years the pavilion will move and will be used for various art events at different locations.

As the art as a process which involves many participants doesn’t reveal itself at first sight, but demands time and engagement and unfolds slowly, the pavilion’s appearance provokes curiosity and invites visitors to experience the unusual and unknown.

The main architectural concept of the pavilion is repetitive and inherited – rule and variation. The design process is based on repetition of one element and they are aggregated by a set of rules, according to the architectural effect the architects aimed for. Aluminum profiles of uniform length together produce irregular, mass-like conglomerate that changes in appearance during the day, depending on present light condition.

The character of the structure calls for ambivalent reading, as it is possible to focus either on a single member or on the integrated whole. Since our brain is constantly trying to distinguish figures and patterns within disorder, the mass-like appearance of the assemblage aims at underlining the creative character of our perception. However, rather than representing forms or meanings, here the architecture produces an ambiguous mass in order to allow the visitors to come up with their own interpretations and associations. Therefore, the pavilion is performative and asks for user’s participation.