Yesterday's post focused on the mutable architectures of Cinecittà, so let's move today to another place with a urban morphology heavily characterised by adaptable architectures, Macau.
"Happiness Forecourt" (Largo da Felicidade), a Collateral Event at the 14th Venice International Architecture Biennale, explores the blending process between East and West, the Chinese and Portuguese cultures, in Macau.
The forecourt theme is interpreted as a urban void created by the confluence of two or more streets or the enlargement of one street that symbolically hint at public spaces for social gatherings, pedestrian circulation, resting places and playgrounds for important events and cultural festivals.
The projects included in this space allow visitors to listen to the sounds recorded in different areas of Macau (by architect and artist Andre Lui Chak Keong), rediscover the history and social values behind the low stool (a project by architect Ryan Lai), conceived as a functional tool and a piece of collective memory of Macau, or explore "Added Layer", a spatial installation by Nino Soares. The architect and urban planner looked at the densely populated Macau, and at the impact of window cages in its architecture and urban landscape.
Soares' installation features a volumetric representation of façades of existing Macau buildings heavily impacted by cages, a documentary about the urban landscape, and a model of a formal structure with red bricks on a white background.
The most intriguing installation included in the "Happiness Forecourt "spaces is "From Below To Above" by João Ó from Buildings Are Not Enough.
The architect and artist covered the walls of a room with a 3D wallpaper featuring intricate patterns and architectural motifs extracted from Taoist temples and Christian Churches.
The wallpaper was inspired by the illusionist ceiling paintings originated in the Italian Renaissance period, with those trompe l'oeil perspectives that created interesting spatial effects. The wallpaper is best seen through anaglyph glasses and at times it gives you the impression you are staring at a delicate lace rather than at a solid wallpaper sheet.
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