Rubbish dumps and motorways, car parks and industrial areas, tunnels and viaducts are forgotten spaces, transitional or even prohibited areas in the contemporary city. They are at the centre of the work of Maurice Nio, founder of NOX and since 2000 head of his own studio. It is in these places – described as ‘technical’ (by those in the field), ‘unfortunate’ (according to everyone else) – that the forty five year old Dutch architect gives his best. All is explained in an exhibition in Florence curated by Marco Brizzi, where robots, the protagonists of a unique installation, penetrate the forgotten ravines of the museum, as does his architecture within the urban landscape. For example the bus station at Hoofddorp, a building that could have remained neutral and pass unobserved. Instead, Nio preferred to make a strong statement: a giant peanut shaped block of polystyrene, for a space as austere as it is ordinary. The architect himself will be giving a presentation of the projects on June 6 at 1800h in the courtyard of the university. After showing in Florence, the exhibition will move to Milan and then Rotterdam. E.S.

6.6.2005 - 24.6.2005
SNAKE SPACE. NIO architecten
SESV – Università degli Studi di Firenze
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