Welcome to the homes of Rolex

The relationship is close: the theme of innovation binds them, that of beauty and design, that of technological progress and precision. Like this Rolex, for the fourth time since 2014, has chosen to be the exclusive partner and official watch of International Architecture Exhibition, in Venice until November 21, 2021. This year the theme chosen by the curator Hashim Sarkis | And “How will we live together?» (how will we live together?) and the architects were invited to imagine spaces in which we can co-exist generously and act together to tackle the crises of our planet that require global action.

“Rolex has always upheld the ideals that encourage man’s ingenuity and his ability to achieve maximum performance,” he said. Arnaud Boetsch, Communication and Image Director of Rolex, «The support for the Biennale and what it represents is also manifested in the way in which the brand approaches the architecture of its buildings, aiming at sustainability and the optimization of spaces».

THE ROLEX PAVILION
The Rolex Pavilion inside the Giardini della Biennale in Venice it rests on a solid foundation counterbalanced by a thin and transparent structure with facets on the surface that recall the fluted bezel, an aesthetic signature visible on some of the brand’s iconic watches. Inside, you can see the design of Mariam Kamara, originally from Niger, a pupil of the famous Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye as part of the initiative «Rolex Master and Pupil». The young architect also presents an installation at the Arsenale in the section As Emerging Communities. The project, which uses traditional construction methods, translates two key objectives of architects as well as Rolex: precision and sustainability. The Rolex pavilion will also give visibility to the ecological approach adopted by the architects of Onsitestudio for the renovation of the Rolex Italia headquarters in the heart of Milan. Through the intervention on light and spaces, and using sustainable building materials, the 19th century building has been transformed into a contemporary structure, while maintaining a link between past and present.

ROLEX AND ARCHITECTURE
When Rolex built their own buildings over the years, they embraced the innovative ideas put forward by leading architects. Recent projects that meet environmental standards include the tower that houses the Rolex sales and service center in Dallas, Texas, designed by the architect Kengo Kuma, and the restructuring of Rolex USA’s New York headquarters of Sir David Chipperfield, curator of Biennale Architettura 2012. Rolex has commissioned the design of its offices and facilities throughout the world to numerous renowned architects including Michael Graves (Lititz Watch Technicum, Pennsylvania, United States), Fumihiko Maki (Rolex building, Tokyo, Japan) and the architects of SANAA Ryue Nishizawa e Kazuyo Sejima (Rolex Learning Center at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland). Sejima also held the role of Maestro in the Rolex Maestro and Pupil initiative along with colleagues Álvaro Siza, Peter Zumthor, Sir David Chipperfield e Sir David Adjaye, while Ryue Nishizawa he was a consultant together with Alejandro Aravena, Vishaan Chakrabarti, Lord Norman Foster, Frank Gehry e Daniel Libeskind.