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Since the beginning of time, fire has always had a very great significance for the human species. In prehistorical times, when humans were still nomads, fire not only provided heat and light, but also generated a circular space around it where to live, turning into the centre of it: the bonfire became the first form of architecture. Furthermore, in ancient cultures, fire was used as part of sacred rituals to ask the gods their permission to inaugurate virgin pieces of land, proving our ancestors’ respect towards nature. With the respect and sensitivity that this unique place demands, six actions have been considered that respond to three concerns: natural landscape preservation, enhancement of heritage and community sense reinforcement.
Elevation 1:500
#dialogue #disappear #remember
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The mirror is a material able to adapt itself to its nearby context and reproduce it, creating a distorted image of its surroundings and producing landscape disruptions.
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Sky Mirror. Anish Kapoor, 2009
Mirror cubes are placed on Roccamandolfi mountain, within the gaps left by the mass of trees, and remain unnoticed during the day.
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The terraces on hills are a traditional solution to settle down on steep mountains.
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resting area
Site Plan 1:1000
#dialogue #disappear #settle #discover
Agricultural Ter races. Ma l lorca
Winding stone wa lls follow Roccamandolf i mountain’s edges, creating natural horizontal surfaces to inhabit. They also work as foundations where to place the mirror cubes. Now we have the settlements.
Combinations
Luxury Small [S] - 3 x 3 x 3 m Medium [M] - 4 x 4 x 4 m Large [L]- 5 x 5 x 5 m
Communal
dialogue
Vacation Intimate Adventurous [L] Luxury
[L] Communal
[M] Vacation
[S] Intimate
[S] Adventurous
A visual connection between Roccamandolf i Castle and the settlements is established. During daylight, the mirror cubes disappear, turning into ref lected sk y and landscape, and only the stone wa lls, both the castle’s and the settlement’s, remain fully present under the sunshine. However, when night comes, the spotlights placed inside the castle facing towards the walls turn on. Citizens of Roccamandolfi witness the castle walls fading away in the dark and how the sky resting on, almost floating over the castle walls, is now lit up. Simultaneously, the inhabited cubes start to appear all over the mountain when the customers decide to turn the lights on.
discover
Roccamandolf i Castle is established as the new link between the existing original path, slightly modified and adapted for all types of users, and a new adventure walkway on the opposite side of the hill, with an opposite character too: different views and sun orientation, steep hills for the most adventurous on a wodden narrow pathway challenging gravity. The castle emerges now as the centre and most important part of a circular twoway path where a subtle landscape inter vention can only be discovered while it is being treaded: Coloured gravel and ropes are fitted in and change colour depending on the visitors position: white gravel for transition areas, red and purple gravel inside the castle and resting areas, purple railway rope along the adventure walkway.
experience
Three sizes of mirrored glass panel structures are designed, provided with dif ferent accesories that of fer severa l ways of experiencing such a diversif ied scener y, satisf y ing in this way a broad range of customer prof iles.
#remember
The ritual is about to begin. Night is falling, mirrors and sk y turn on, just like the wood pyre lit up the old ancestor’s faces. Meanwhile, the walls stay quiet and unseen, just as firewood does in a bonfire. Their moment is yet to come, at dawn, when settlers wake up and the sun begins to shine. The ritual is about to begin. Night is falling... Settlement view
#disappear #settle