Mike Smith Studio

The brief: To install a coach in a room of a convent on the Guidecca in Venice for the 50th biennale de arte. The coach was 9 x 2.5 x 3 metres. The access to the room was a doorway 2.5 x 1.4 metres at the end of a narrow dog-legged corridor. A site visit was conducted to establish access and feasibility. The most cost-effective solution was to transport the coach by helicopter and move it into the building in two parts but it was not possible due to flying restrictions over Venice. After finding a suitable location with facilities, a budget and timescale programme was produced. The coach was subsequently extensively dismantled and transported by truck and boats to the location, where it was reassembled to look as if it had magically landed in the space.