Inspired by the self-balancing patterns in Brunelleschi’s dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and Paul Klee’s artwork “Angelus Novus,” the University Center for Human Values Research Film Studio and the Form Finding Lab at Princeton University collaborated with architects and engineers at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to present an exhibition at the 2023 Venice Biennale. Organized by the European Cultural Centre, the exhibition explored new possibilities for the self-balancing vault, a construction method that has enabled centuries of architectural innovation. Staged in the garden of the Palazzo Mora, the project featured a self-balancing vault built by traditional masons employing augmented reality in their construction process. The installation included a digital film-fresco viewable on both an LED panel and the vault itself via an interactive AR application. The “Angelus Novus” project received the European Cultural Centre’s 2024 University Innovation Award and has inspired journal publications and new design collaborations, as well as masonry training programs in Italy and the United States to incorporate AR technology.
“Angelus Novus” is produced by creativeX with additional support from Princeton University’s Form Finding Lab and University Center for Human Values Research Film Studio, the University of Bergamo, and IE University. Special thanks to JPF-Ducret SA, Taramelli, and Terreal Italia for construction support.
