The International Book Fair of Bogotá (FILBO) opened its doors to the public, unveiling MVRDV’s design for the Hola Holanda exhibition. The Netherlands are this year’s partner country and as such MVRDV designed an exhibition that showcases and celebrates Dutch design and literature. Rather than creating a one-time setup with the consequent waste of resources, MVRDV designed a modular system of crates to create a village of pavilions that will be reused as libraries in neighborhoods around Bogota. In this way the lifetime of the pavilion is extended and the spirit of the Book Fair is kept alive.
MVRDV looked to re-imagine concept of temporary pavilions and set the goal to create a legacy for FILBO that would feed back into the communities of Bogotá. The event is hailed as a major cultural, and financial, boost for the country and region, but the pavilions and exhibitions themselves tend to serve their purpose and then disappear. To challenge this and help promote education and literature throughout Bogotá, pavilions within the Dutch exhibition are constructed of uniquely designed wooden crates that can be easily deconstructed and reassembled in any number of combinations.
Once the event is over, these pavilions will be distributed throughout Bogotá to provide social and education spaces, as well as libraries, for communities throughout the city. The catalogue of pavilions which includes a tribune-come-meeting-block, circular book shop and exhibition room are all built up from over one thousand wooden crates, and are each vividly coloured depending on its respective theme. The crates epitomise the Dutch design method of simple functionality combined with practical economics and complete adaptability.
Each unit is cut from standardised wooden panels, leaving as little waste material as possible and are constructed in such a way that provides unlimited possibilities for reconstruction throughout their lifetime. At the heart of FILBO is the aim to spread the knowledge of local and international writers, for MVRDV this idea translated into the architecture and design of the exhibition as well; to export the Dutch know-how and combine this with Colombian craftsmanship. Not only does this maximise on the budget, but more importantly it creates an experience that is more a partnership than an individual display.
Dutch designer Irma Boom inspired locally crafted punctuation-styled furniture for the exhibition, as well as the graphical design, signage and the image throughout the exhibition. Whilst designer Richard Hutten exported the idea of his famous book-chair to be made with a Colombian twist. The pavilion is the result of the collaboration between MVRDV, the Netherlands Embassy in Bogotá and the designer Irma Boom and local architect Carlos Medellín from El Equipo Mazzanti and was supported by Desso, Philips, Vescom and Brand & Van Egmond.Source by MVRDV, Image by Punto Avi, Courtesy of MVRDV.