In collaboration with Greg Lynn
2003
Richard Humann / Greg Lynn • Ice Scraper • 2003
Ice Scraper is an architectural art project conceived by New York City–based artist Richard Humann and Los Angeles–based architect Greg Lynn for the 2003 50th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. The project was developed for the 2004 Snow Show in Kemi, Finland, an exhibition that brought together artists and architects to create collaborative works in snow and ice.
Conceived as a site-specific structure for the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, Ice Scraper emerged from a collaboration between artistic vision and architectural design. The extreme conditions of the region were integral to the concept, particularly the temperatures, which could reach −37°C. Rather than treating the environment as a backdrop for the work, Humann and Lynn made the cold itself an essential part of the construction process.
The concept proposed raising a source of water to great heights in the freezing Arctic air, allowing it to solidify progressively into a monumental ice structure. The process transformed water into an architectural material through exposure to the elements. Instead of relying entirely on conventional construction methods, the work envisioned nature as an active participant in its formation, with freezing temperatures determining how the structure would develop and take shape.
Once the ice structure reached its intended height, large holes would be bored through it. These openings were designed to capture and channel the sound of the wind as it passed through the frozen mass. The sculpture would therefore operate not only as a visual and architectural presence, but also as a resonating instrument. Wind, usually experienced as an invisible force, would become perceptible through the sounds produced as it moved through the structure.
The title Ice Scraper suggests an interaction between the built form and the forces acting upon it. The structure would stand at the intersection of water, ice, air, and architecture, shaped by extreme cold and animated by the movement of wind. Its monumental scale would contrast with the fragility of its material, while its openings would transform an otherwise solid mass into a passage for air and sound.
Through this collaboration, Humann and Lynn proposed an architecture that extended beyond the visual and spatial concerns of conventional building. Ice Scraper brought together material transformation, environmental conditions, and acoustic experience in a single site-specific work. The Arctic climate was not simply a challenge to overcome; it was the primary agent of construction, while the wind supplied the work’s changing voice. The result was a concept in which architecture became an encounter with natural forces—an evolving structure formed by cold and brought to life by air.
The artist and architect teams for the 2003 Venice Biennale at Palazzo Zorzi, Venice, Italy, and the 2004 Snow Show in Kemi and Rovaniemi, Finland include:
Daniel Buren + Patrick Bouchain
Top Changtrakul + LOT-EK
Cai Guo-Qiang + Zaha Hadid
Carsten Höller + Williams & Tsien
Jene Highstein + Steven Holl
Richard Humann + Greg Lynn
Anish Kapoor + Future Systems
Tatsuo Miyajima + Tadao Ando
Ernesto Neto + Ocean North
Yoko Ono + Arata Isozaki
Paola Pivi + Cliostraat
Jauma Plensa + Norman Foster
Osmo Rauhala + Asymptote
John Roloff + Diller-Scofidio
Kiki Smith + Lebbeus Woods
Do-Ho Suh + Morphosis
Lawrence Weiner + Enrique Norten
Rachel Whiteread + Juhani Pallasmaa
Photo credit: Gregg Lynn FORM / Richard Humann Studio