One of the most talked about installations at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice was Cloudscapes. Japanese architect Tetsuo Kondo and a German climate engineering firm Transsolar came together to put a cloud in a large interior space called the Corderie, a 316-meter-long space where ropes for Venetian ships were made. Visitors to the exhibit can walk through the cloud via a circular ramp that ascended 4.3 meters high. This feat of climate engineering is produced by blowing three layers of air into the space at different temperatures. Cool dry air at the bottom layer keeps the cloud up; warm, humid air in the middle creates the dense fog; hot, dry air sits on top. Click through for photos and video from the exhibition which will be on display in Venice through November 21, 2010.
A diagram explaining the three layers of air used to create the cloud. [via Designboom]