LIGA, Space for Architecture is an independent platform founded in Mexico City in 2011 that promotes Latin American contemporary architecture through exhibitions, conferences and workshops.

The instalation starts from the idea that all architecture is a physical effort: the task of building implies work, forced exerted on matter and the introduction of an abstract conception in the context of the terrain. High power magnets, gui- tar strings, marbles of green glass, metal pulleys and small brass strips create a composition in equilibrium that alludes to structural situations similar to the ones she has constructed. This installation highlights almost telluric physical tensions, with which architecture orders material and confronts gravity.

The title of the show, Isostasy, refers to the ideal gravitational equilibrium that regulates the height of continents and the depths of oceans, according to the density of rock-like masses. The term was rst coined in 1889, when US geogra- pher Dutton described this phenomenon of hydrostatic equilibrium of tectonic plates. As if the architect would have planned it in advance, in direct relation to the title of the show, this fragile installation collapsed on May 20, 2010, only 25 days after its inauguration, when an earthquake of a 7.4 magnitude on the Richter scale shook Mexico City. Even though the incident caused some losses, the work, which precisely expressed the fragility of a construction in equilibri- um, was fully restored a few days later.

This installation highlights almost telluric physical tensions, with wich architec- ture orders material and confronts gravity.

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Credits:

Author: Carla Juaçaba

Coordination: Maki Leos

Graphic: Barbara Cutlak