“The Big Horn” by Mezzo Atelier is a temporary installation for the headquarters of the 5th edition of the Public Art Festival Walk&Talk Azores. The project was developed in residency for the festival and our proposal was to redefine the festival’s main space, which every year, for two weeks, holds the most different kind of events and became the hotspot for artists and locals.
The existing space, which connects the street and the galleries inside the “occupied” building, showed a deficient circulation as the main access was made trough a small door in a upper level. The intervention took advantage on the situation and transformed the problem into a potential, expanding the “shy” door into the lateral walls and creating a ramp that smoothly makes the transition between the two floor levels and makes it accessible to everyone.
This practical and strong gesture has created a space, which resembles with a horn, as it opens up in length and height and metaphorically calls people to walk in and visit the exhibitions and workshops inside. Completely built with local wood, named cryptomeria, the structure is closed on one side and starts to open on the other trough a slatted wood panel.
But the “The Big Horn” is not only a portal into an art hub, in fact, the temporary installation, unveils a dynamic program, which demands for a flexible space. With an intense use of almost 24 hours a day for two weeks, the installation holds a bar with a service area, a pop up store, a stage for talks, concerts and DJ sets. The long ramp transforms into a layback auditorium during presentations and the perfect spot for “welcome” pictures in front of the hand-made “walk&talk” mural made of strings and nails.
The creation of site specific furniture was essential for the success of the project: coffee tables, stools and several kinds of chairs where built in wood on site with architectural students which participated on the tree day open residency with Giacomo Mezzadri and Joana Oliveira from Mezzo Atelier. The pieces of furniture where quickly taken in possession by the people and were constantly changing layouts in response of the event’s demands.
