GRAVITY
Nothing determines the character of architecture more than its desire
to defy gravity and the manner and style with which this desire
is fulfilled.
Simone Weil
(1909 - 1943)
GRACE
Grace doesn't necessarily imply weightlessness. Rather heavy objects in the manner to which they meet the ground or hover above it can display vast amounts of grace.
It could be approached in a hundred different ways: like lightness, for example. But my choice of Gravity and Grace has to do with Simone Weil, who has written a text called Gravity and Grace.
São Paulo Museum of Art
(1968)
In this project the desire to maintain the continuity of the public space
underneath was a strong incentive to suspend the body of the building
well above the ground. Indeed, the choice to float an immense structure right under the 35-meter height limit, instead of several smaller structures each with its own specific program, generates the largest possible green and water grounds open to the public.
suspension
Architecture can create the mystery of suspension by hidden structural systems
Necessity
Natural forces, such as gravity, pull down on the individual - we are subjected to these forces.
Counter-balancE
Grace operates as a counter-balance to gravity; it pierces the world of necessity.