One of our trio of esteemed guest editors for the October issue, architect Ole Scheeren also dipped his toe in the waters of Venice during this year's 13th Architecture Biennale. The Archipelago Cinema, first seen moored in a steep cove on the Thai island of Yao Noi, was recreated and reborn as a venue in Venice, thanks to the flexibility of the original design and involvement of local craftspeople.
Formed from a series of rafts, lashed together with a grid of scaffolding, then clad with suitably maritime decking, the Cinema was then set adrift in the middle of the Arsenale basin, accessible only by water taxi. Strewn with comfy beanbags and the sparkling covers of our ultra-strict limited edition of Scheeren's guest-edited section of the magazine, the floating structure was the perfect alfresco setting for architecture films, screened over several days.
As the clear skies faded to stars on the opening night, the projector rolled and the drinks from Belvedere Vodka and Peroni Beer were doled out to the plucky guests. The aftershow party, with kind support from the KT Wong Foundation and our good selves, saw the platform shimmy to the sleek sound and vision created by Marc Feigenspann, Johannes Brecht and VJ Philipp Monjoie.
Strewn with benches and comfy beanbags, the floating structure was the perfect alfresco setting for architecture films screened over several days
Formed from a series of rafts, lashed together with a grid of scaffolding, then clad with suitably maritime decking, the cinema was set adrift in the middle of the Arsenale basin, accessible only by water taxi. Here Ole Scheeren introduces the evening ahead
The aftershow party was co-hosted by Wallpaper* and the KT Wong Foundation
Architect and Wallpaper* guest editor Ole Scheeren, Wallpaper* Editor-in-Chief Tony Chambers and Barbican managing director Sir Nicholas Kenyon
10 Corso Como-founder Carla Sozzani, and former Condé Nast Traveller editor Sarah Miller; Wallpaper* editorial director Richard Cook, WWD's Samantha Conti and The Daily Telegraph's Georgia Dehn
Ole Scheeren, jewellery designer Delfina Delettrez and publisher Jefferson Hack; Publicist Laura Colapietro, V&A director Martin Roth and KT Wong Foundation founder Lady Linda Wong Davies
Music came courtesy of Marc Feigenspann, Johannes Brecht and VJ Philipp Monjoie
Guests, including BBC creative director Alan Yentob (second from left), were given limited edition books of Scheeren's guest-edited section of our October issue
The book is fronted by a graphic, foil-blocked image of the floating cinema, seen from above
As Wallpaper* guest editor, Ole Scheeren has brought together artists and writers from Beijing, Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur - all cities where his practice works - for a unique take on Asia's incredible urban life
Scheeren, photographed by Mei Yuan Gui, with a model of his Angkasa Raya skyscraper, now under construction in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia
Valerie Stahl works as a photographer and artist in Berlin but fell in love with China and the rest of Asia after first coming to work on a commission for Scheeren in Beijing in 2008. The book includes works from her 'International Building Collages' series, Part I (Singapore), including 'The Scotts Tower', 2012
'International Building Collages' series, Part I (Singapore), 'The Interlace', 2012,
by Valerie Stahl
The platforms of the floating cinema are put in place in the Venetian lagoon
The cinema, photographed on its first outing in Yao Noi, Thailand (left), and under construction in Venice
Canadian novelist, visual artist and designer Douglas Coupland contributed 'Letters from the Near Future' to Scheeren's guest edited section. Here, he is photographed in his Vancouver studio with his polished brass sculpture of the CCTV Tower
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