Introduction

Vaporization and nothingness are likely to be the two words that emerge in your mind when you look at The Blur Building. The architects Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio built it specifically for the 2002 Swiss Expo, which took place in Yverdon-Les-Bains, Switzerland.

The temporary media pavilion became an artwork that attracted tons of visitors. Furthermore, its impact on the creative scene is quite remarkable.

What is The Blur Building?

You could refer to it as a media pavilion that had undergone massive transformation since 2002 when it was launched. In the ensuing years, the pavilion has become one of the attractions around Lake Neuchatel.

With its perfect mix of filtered lake water and fog nozzles, The Blur Building captures imagination vividly. Furthermore, it also has an in-built weather station. Through the station, it controls fog output by responding to the ever-changing climatic conditions that include:

• Wind direction
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Wind speed

Accessibility

Over the years, visitors have shown a massive interest in making their way to The Blur Building to enjoy its remarkable attractions. Because of this, its designers equipped the building with a ramped bridge to make accessibility much more manageable.

The ramped bridge is 400ft (120m) in length. It takes visitors right into the fog’s center. Upon reaching there, visitors then step onto its large open-air podium. Here, visitors can’t move freely as that aspect of the tour is heavily regulated. As you enjoy this leg of the trip, the pulsing water nozzles would relax your mind.

How did it work?

The Blur Building gets its water from LakeNeuchatel. Through a combination of various systems and mechanisms, the water undergoes filtration before shooting up to the sky to release an impressive cloud of fog.

The presence of the smart weather system is proof that the architectural masterpiece is full of technological advances. Once you’re inside The Blur Building, you will not notice any acoustic and visual references. More impressively, all this happens in a low definition surrounding.

Former location

The Blur Building is closed.

Videos

Liz Diller: Architecture is a special effects machine

Blur Building

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, The Blur Building is an architectural masterpiece. It doesn’t offer you a perfect view of the picturesque surroundings of Lake Neuchatel. What it does, though, is to give you blurred images courtesy of the massive cloud of fog that surrounds it.

In this regard, you would be fortunate to experience the magic of one of Switzerland’s most impressive architectural creations. The sensation, charm, and relaxation you encounter when inside or near The Blur Building make it all worthwhile.

Drawings

Explore nearby (Yverdon-Les-Bains, Switzerland)