Rome, Italy

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8½

Rome, Italy

Firm

orizzontale

Type

Cultural › Pavilion

YEAR

2014

Photos

MUSACCHIO&IANNIELLO Musacchio&Ianniello (16), Daniele Lanci Photography (1)

8½ is the winning design of YAP MAXXI 2014, a program in support of young architecture organized by MAXXI with MoMA/MoMA PS1 (NYC), Constructo (Santiago de Chile), Istanbul Modern (Turkey), and MMCA National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Seul (Korea).

8½ is a mobile theater, or a machine to experience public space. It investigates the dual nature of public space, as the place of intimacy and elective relationships, and also the preferential territory of event and spectacle. The installation intends to be a reflection about the transition that changes public space from being the background of private encounters and individual moments to being the scene of public events and collective representations.

8 ½ was built in 4 weeks, the construction site also became a 2-week workshop open to students from all over Italy. The participant worked on the wooden structures of the arena and on the upcycle process of turning plastic beer kegs into lampshades for the wall.

8 ½ consists of two complementary elements: the wall and the arena.

1. The wall: At 8 and 1⁄2 meters high, the wall is built with modular timber frames. It transforms the surrounding space laying down a principal direction and creates a threshold effect dividing the “front” from the “back.” An opening in the structure can be used as an access point to the interior space and as a stage alternatively facing one side or the other. During the plays, the wall works as a backdrop or technical infrastructure for machines and equipment. A path climbing to an upper level can be used during the shows as a part of the stage or, in everyday life, as a new point of view over the area.

The LED lighting system works as a display that can show geometrical drawings, graphics, and typographic fonts.

2. The arena consists of 4 “relational objects” and a canopy that goes from the wall to a linear system composed of six blocks. The arena is both a theater; a place designated to public events and plays, and a square; an architectural device for the daily use of the common space. An accurate shadow study of the canopy allows both shaded and sunny areas during summertime. The wall and the arena work together creating an intimate relational space, an “urban room” where you can enjoy the space together, play, chill or simply stay.
8 ½ is an installation specifically designed for piazza Boetti, but it can be easily dismantled, reassembled, and rearranged in new configurations, cleverly adapting to the new site. The structure doesn’t heavily affect the sites, reducing the cost of the first and the further re-installations.

Photo: Musacchio Ianniello, courtesy Fondazione MAXXI