SUPRE:ARCHITECTURE THE PROBLEM OF SPACE TRAVEL

THE PROBLEM OF SPACE TRAVEL
SUPRE:ARCHITECTURE
PAVILION OF SLOVENIA AT THE 14TH INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE EXHIBITION – LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA

At the 14th International Architecture Exhibition, the Pavilion of Slovenia, curated
by the Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies (KSEVT), delves on the
fundamentals of architecture by looking at the work of Slovene engineer Herman
Potočnik Noordung, the pioneer of space architecture. With his 1928 book The
Problem of Space Travel – The Rocket Motor, Potočnik established a first vision of
architecture that would enable human survival in dangerous, even deadly conditions
of zero gravity.

In the Arsenale, in at the passage between Corderie and Artiglierie, the Pavilion of
Slovenia presents Potočnik’s idea of architecture for space at many levels. For the
last few decades, our nearby space has been inhabited with objects of various origin,
from satellites to space stations. These human “settlements” perform all kinds of
functions in an environment unfriendly to humans, yet they join hands as cultural
and architectural artifacts. Potočnik stands as someone who, first and foremost,
used his knowledge to answer the question of how to use technology not in terms of
destruction, but for common human purposes and to render the habitation of space
possible. The history of space appropriation has always been, consequently, a history
of architecture, bound especially to scientific and technological achievements.

In the Pavilion, KSEVT makes a between Science-Technology solutions and the Arts-
Humanities appropriation of space, seeing the development of architecture as an
intersection of two parallel human efforts. The Arts-Humanities vector, outlined
by Potočnik and his non-militaristic approach to designing space architecture, is to
recognize a cultural space in weightlessness and in unnatural conditions to humans.

Potočnik’s commitment and his architectural contribution can be better understood
when framed alongside the history of architectural Modernism, in Slovenia and abroad.
We may understand the methodology of Potočnik’s plans for space architecture – to

create an environment for human habitation in a completely inhuman environment,
space – through a series of architectural solutions made by prominent Slovenian
architects in the past hundred years, despite the fact they were often subjected to
a residential and social function, defending the idea of a better life – with all the
benefits of a civilization – even for the weakest social groups.

It is not by accident that even some modernists and avant-gardists started to
discover space, albeit with their own devices, in the early decades of the 20th century.
The search for a new artistic expression often coincided with the invention of a new
social order and a new man. Space made a radically new view of art and society
entirely possible, so the story of the technological and architectural conquest of
space is intertwined with utopian artistic exploration and therefore with the artistic
interpretation of what space is and what it implies.

Through three concepts, the Pavilion offers different ways to understand Potočnik’s
space architecture and architectural space in general. Supre:human deals with
Noordung’s Technology-Humanities designs for a human living space. Supre:living
above all exposes the fact that space is impregnated with cultural artifacts —
including architecture — as well as artistic appropriation and even an expansion of
this very term. Finally, Supre:composite represents Slovenian architecture in the last
century as the predecessor and descendant of Potočnik’s architectural aspirations; a
predecessor that demonstrates the context and mentality of the idea for architecture
in a certain area; a descendant who points out the basis of a general reflection –
how does the architecture enable human habitation? –, and, because it is born in
conditions of new technological solutions, largely connected to the development of
space technologies.

Through these three aspects, KSEVT advances a unique look at the past scientific
and artistic exploration of space, a look to begin and understand this exploration
as a diverse mental effort of space culturalization. KSEVT holds this exhibition in
cooperation with the La Biennale di Venezia and is preparing the main presentation
in cooperation with the Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre from Star
City. They will establish a connection of Herman Potočnik Noordung with the
International Space Station, the only inhabited space architecture in Earth’s orbit.

Title of the exhibition: THE PROBLEM OF SPACE TRAVEL - SUPRE:ARCHITECTURE
Authors: MIHA TURŠIČ, DRAGAN ŽIVADINOV
Co-authors: DUNJA ZUPANČIČ, ŠPELA PETRIČ, PETER KREČIČ, TANYA N.
ZHELNINA
Curator: JURIJ KRPAN
Commissioner: MIHA TURŠIČ (KSEVT, Vitanje)
Deputy Commissioner: MAJA IVANIČ (DESSA Gallery, Ljubljana)
General contact of the pavilion: AURORA FONDA (Galleria AplusA, Venezia),
info@aplusa.it / +39 3477122456
Press contact: ROBERTINA ŠEBJANIČ (KSEVT, Vitanje), pr@ksevt.eu

THE PROBLEM OF SPACE TRAVEL
SUPRE:ARCHITECTURE
PAVILION OF SLOVENIA AT THE 14TH INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE EXHIBITION – LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA

SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHORS

Name: MR. MIHA TURŠIČ, commisioner and author
Born: Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1975
Lives and works: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Web site: www.ksevt.eu

Miha Turšič finished industrial design studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana in
1999. In a period from 1995 to 2005, he was involved into worldwide product and brand
development. Since 2004, he is actively involved in space culturalization, designing
zero gravity dwellings and postgravity art in collaboration with Dunja Zupančič, Dragan
Živadinov and Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia. In his career he
co-founded several institutions in the field of research, development and art. Currently
he is the director of KSEVT (Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies) and is
focused on developing a Cultural Space Programme.

Name: MR. DRAGAN ŽIVADINOV, author
Born: Ilirska Bistrica, Slovenia, 1960
Lives and works: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Web site: www.postgravityart.org

Dragan Živadinov studied theatre directing at the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and
Television in Ljubljana from 1980 to 1984. He was a cofounder of the art movement
NSK in 1985. During the ‘80s he constructed the style “retro-gardism” and constructed
retro-gardist events and observatories. In 1983, he founded the retro-garde Theatre
of Scipio Nasica’s Sisters, and in 1987, the Red Pilot Cosmokinetic Observatory. In
the early ‘90s, he constructed “informances” and transformed the Red Pilot into the
Noordung Cosmokinetic Cabinet. In 1995, he embarked on a 50-year theatrical process
entitled Noordung 1995-2045 in the style of “telecosmism.” In 1998, he became a
cosmonaut candidate, and in 1999, he accomplished Biomechanics Noordung, the
first complete theatre production in zero gravity. Since 2000, he has been constructing
postgravity theatrical abstracts, and in 2005, he staged the first repeat performance
of Noordung 1995-2005-2045. In 2010, he co-founded KSEVT.

Name: MR. JURIJ KRPAN, curator
Born: Postojna, Slovenia
Lives and works: Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1961
Web site: www.kapelica.org

Jurij Krpan graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana. Since 1995, he has
been developing the mission and programme direction of Kapelica Gallery, which is
characterized by explicitness, politics and devotion to the criteria of contemporary art
research which he also encourages and promotes with special events in Slovenia and
at an international scale. In 2003, he was the Commissioner of the Slovenian Pavilion at
the 50th Venice Biennale. In 2006, he curated the U3 – 5th Triennial of Contemporary
Slovenian Art in the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana. Between 2006 and 2010,
he was leading the art project Cosinus in Brussels, in 2008, he curated the project
Featured Art Scene: Ecology of Techno Mind at the Ars Electronica in Linz and in 2009,
a large overview exhibition Arzenal Depo 2K9 in the Viba film studios in Ljubljana.

THE PROBLEM OF SPACE TRAVEL
SUPRE:ARCHITECTURE
PAVILION OF SLOVENIA AT THE 14TH INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE EXHIBITION – LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA

PRESS IMAGES

Slovenia_01_Noordung.jpg
Herman Potočnik Noordung, The Problem of Space Travel - The Rocket Motor,
1928, Figure 84 - The Habitat Wheel. Left: Axial cross section. Right: View of the
side constantly facing the sun, without a concave mirror, partially in cross section,
Copyright © KSEVT - Treasury of Modernity

Slovenia_02_Noordung.jpg
Herman Potočnik Noordung, The Problem of Space Travel - The Rocket Motor, 1928,
Figure 88 - Well of the habitable wheel staircase, Copyright © KSEVT - Treasury of
Modernity

Slovenia_03_Noordung.jpg
Herman Potočnik Noordung, The Problem of Space Travel - The Rocket Motor, 1928,
Figure 60 - A room of the space station in the state of weightlessness and which is
being furnished; Figure 61 - Writing in the state of weightlessness: for this purpose,
we have to be strapped to the tabletop, for example, by means of leather straps
in order to remain at the table at all. A man floats in from the next room through
the door opening, bringing something with him, Copyright © KSEVT - Treasury of
Modernity

Slovenia_04_ISS.jpg
Supre:human; Cosmonauts Sergey Nikolayevich Ryazansky and Oleg Valeriyevich
Kotov reading the Herman Potočnik Noordung description of space architectural
elements, Yuri A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, Zvyozdny gorodok, 2014,
Copyright © KSEVT

Slovenia_05_KSEVT.jpg
Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies; Matija Bevk, Aljoša Dekleva, Tina
Gregorič, Rok Oman, Vasa J. Perović, Jurij Sadar, Špela Videčnik, Boštjan Vuga, 2012,
Photographer: Tomaž Maček, Copyright © KSEVT