ES Frigo for Maxxi Museum: Ice at the Museum?

How we Created an Installation Spanning Art and Technology

Imagine entering a very cold room, with the ceiling and walls covered by a thick layer of ice. Not artificially reconstructed, but real ice, constantly forming and maintaining itself in the heart of one of Italy’s most important museums.

This is exactly the project that ES Frigo has completed in collaboration with the MAXXI Museum in Rome, as part of the exhibition ‘Sensazioni in Ambiente’ (Sensations in Environment). An ambitious challenge, only made possible by unique and original solutions.

The MAXXI challenge

When the MAXXI Museum contacted ES Frigo, the briefing was as fascinating as it was complex: create an environment where ice would form on the ceiling and part of the walls of a 6 by 4-metre room. The work was to remain on display for six months, giving visitors the impression of being inside a real chamber made of ice.

But the project was fraught with technical challenges: it was set in an uninsulated, large, open space with plasterboard walls, with visitors coming in and out, bringing body heat and disturbing the delicate thermal balance. As if that were not enough, the artist’s need was to have all the refrigeration equipment directly inside the work itself, to emphasise the noise of the machinery. A true test of endurance.

Complex problems, innovative solutions

We faced a number of technical obstacles that would have discouraged most people. How to maintain ice and prevent it from melting on surfaces not designed to withstand the cold? How to counteract the heat generated by the visitors and even by the very refrigeration machinery we needed? The answer was to find a unique solution, a dual condensing system.

The double condensing unit: how to maintain ice in an open environment

The key to success was the installation of a double condensing unit, a key element in meeting all requirements. ES Frigo installed an internal condensing unit, seamlessly integrated into the artwork’s environment according to the aesthetic requirements of the artist, and an external condensing unit, designed to control the actual cooling. While the internal condensing unit helped to create the desired auditory effect, the external condensing unit ensured that the room temperature remained constantly below zero.

In this way, it was possible to create a microclimate that would allow ice to form and remain stable, without damaging the plasterboard structure and keeping the room safe for the thousands of visitors who immersed themselves in the work for months.

A chilling installation: the frozen room that caused a sensation

The result was extraordinary: a completely frozen room, capable of arousing awe and wonder among MAXXI’s visitors. The ice held out for six months without melting. But the success of the project was not only technical: the greatest satisfaction was to meet precisely and thoroughly all of the artist’s needs, without compromise, adapting the technology to a work that needed an extremely delicate aesthetic touch.

ES Frigo: from the cold chain to contemporary art

This story perfectly represents the spirit of ES Frigo: the ability to solve complex problems, to think outside the box and to adapt to the most unusual demands, providing innovative solutions.

This installation is tangible proof of how even the refrigeration sector can become fertile ground for art and creativity, and how we are able to bring innovation and reliability wherever there is a need to keep cool, even when that need is… artistic.