On the occasion of the 34th São Paulo Art Biennial, one of the most prestigious international cultural events, Andrade Morettin Associates designed the architectural project for the interior fittings. Carried out in collaboration with Metrópole Arquitetos Associados, the project was developed inside the famous Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, with the aim of establishing a harmonious dialogue between art, architecture, and the urban landscape.
The architectural concept draws inspiration from the curatorial theme of the Brazilian Biennial — the relationship between things, rather than the things themselves — translating it into a system of fluid spaces that mediate between the works, the public, and the context. To give shape to this “intermediate scale” between the building and the visitor’s experience, the designers imagined a series of light, removable galleries, built with prefabricated laminated wood structures embellished with different materials, including PolyPiù’s SmartPiù alveolar polycarbonate.
Specifically, SmartPiù onda 76/18 sheets were used to create the interior walls that define and modulate the various exhibition spaces. Thanks to their flexibility and lightness, they adapted perfectly to the sinuous and dynamic lines of the layout, helping to create controlled visual permeability and an evocative diffusion of light that accompanies visitors along the route. The calibrated transparency of the material, combined with the wavy geometry of the profile, filters natural light and creates an ethereal and suspended atmosphere, striking a perfect balance between visibility and introspection.
In addition to its aesthetic value, the use of PolyPiù alveolar polycarbonate also met sustainability and reversibility criteria, allowing the components to be reused once the installation was dismantled: a principle consistent with the philosophy of the Biennale and with the vision of temporary, lightweight, and responsible architecture.
The result is an immersive environment in which matter, light, and space become the spokespersons for a single narrative language, enhancing the sensory dimension of the visit and elegantly interpreting the theme of mediation between art and the world.
