Orrizontale has constructed “Casa do Quarteirão,” a permanent wooden installation developed for Walk&Talk 2016, an annual arts festival in the Azores islands, that reclaims the physical space of the street for “convivial and collaborative use.”
In 2011, Walk&Talk was founded to “transform the islands into a laboratory for contemporary and transdisciplinary artistic creation, producing experimental projects, in a permanent dialogue with the territory, the culture and the local community, promoting a favorable environment for sharing and co-creation.”
Collaborating with visual designer NO-ROCKET, Orrizontale builds on this mission with “Casa do Quarteirão.” Located in the O Quarteirão neighborhood near the Ponta Delgada historic city center, the project attempts to preserve and enhance an area of the city that has not been invaded by parking lots and cars.
“After a first visit in Ponta Delgada, during a public talk at MIOLO Art Gallery, we chose together with the inhabitants to work in the small Travessa da Rua d’Acoa, to materialize a common square, a place for the community,” explain the architects on their site decision.
Orrizontale refers to the project concept as a Viviero, a collective greenhouse for the community, inspired by the intimacy of traditional Azorian residential architecture. Thus the structure features two program elements: a pavilion for the community gather and hold events (Rua Pedro Homem), and a small structure with a terrace (Rua d’ Acoa) to provide a cozy setting for taking in the area. Between these two structures, a new public square emerged.
The project is designed to be transformable, using modular frames that can be easily reassembled into several configurations that meet the needs of a variety of activities. The structures were constructed with help from the community in just five days, using wood from the Cryptomeria japonica, an endemic conifer species that grows in the island.
For more on Walk&Talk 2016, check out the event website, here.
News via Orrizontale.
