Description & Credits

Frozen Void

Frozen Void is an ice building realized in Kemi, Finland 2004 in collaboration with Brazilian sculptor Ernesto Neto. It was a cylindrical object of ice approximately 4 meters in height and diameter, and contained a naturally evolved void that people could enter. It was designed using a natural form finding process - freezing water:

A cylindrical steel reinforced plywood mould was sealed with a plastic tarmac and filled with 50 m3 of water from the Bay of Finland. The water was left to freeze for two weeks before the mould was opened. A solid monolith of ice was revealed. On its outside surface were traces of the folds and ripples of the plastic tarmac, the inside was filled with unfrozen water. As the entrance was cut, the water poured out, and the monolith gave birth to a naturally formed void.

Inside, the massive solidity of the exterior was gone. The space was surreal, dreamlike [1], immaterial and weightless. It resulted simply from the interplay of the natural forces with the water contained by the walls of the mould. The temperatures of the different days were registered as ledges on the wall. The color of the surface changed as the color of the water pumped from the sea had varied. The thickness alternated according to the outside temperature and directions of the wind on the site. Some ice was white, almost like snow, some was so clear that you could see outside.

Credits
Kivi, Sotamaa, Tuuli Sotamaa & Ernesto Neto

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