Piazza Santissima Annunziata
Designer: Lorenzo Caia
Location: Florence, Italy
Project Area: 500 sq.m.
Project Year: 2012-2013
Introduction:
The project envisioned the mounting of a temporary space for children from 6 to 12 years.
The area of interest is:
-Piazza Santissima Annunziata.
Piazza Santissima Annunziata is born as consequence of the church Santissima Annunziata, along with Ospedale degli Innocenti, Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai and Loggiato dei Serviti.
The temporary space for children has as its main goals the following: entertain, involve and attract the attention of all people, from child to elder.
Also, the designer wants to create an enjoyable harmonic space both during the day and at night with an obvious link between Ospedale degli Innocenti’s interior through a balance and harmonious system.
The method the designer used in this project is Sezione Aurea. It is a perfect system for creating a clear and perfect relationship between the space and the so called ‘Segmento Aureo’ from where we get the aures forms.
To finish, the designer followed one rule while planning and it is to respect the background and more importantly to respect the building’s history, because without these things the designer would be only a destroyer.
Project Premise:
Santissima Annunziata.
The project expected the mounting of a temporary space in Piazza Santissima Annunziata.
This space is made for children from 6 to 12 years and for an already lost nature in the city which is swapped by contemporary nature instead.
The main focus is to involve and attract every kind of people (from child to the elder) inside of Ospedale degli Innocenti, where one can find an ephemeral architecture on children nowadays.
Everything is shown clearly and simply without hiding or destroying the Piazza’s history but emphasizing the geographic position (direct link with Florence Duomo) and the space that it takes.
Inspiration:
The inspiration of designer for the project is the sun’s light linearity, which goes with the harmony, casual and delicate ways of the trees.
This casual phenomenon gives life to a forest.
The number, the position and the form that every single tree gets (inside a forest), it is the peak of nature’s expression, which in the designer’s sector is called “Outdoor Furniture”.
When the designer saw the picture of this phenomenon in front of his eyes, in his head he started to generate ideas. This ideas are the base of the project realization, exalting and not hidering it.
Reference:
DANTEUM, GIUSEPPE TERRAGNI, 1938-1940 con P. Lingeri e M. Sironi.
Finality:
Making a temporary space for children from 6 to 12 years, with the goal to check the influence of technology and nature in society today.
Making a mounting in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, which answers the following needs: Involvement of the people of all years ( from playtime of children to bench for relatives or parents), the presence of an invisible and lost nature and of technology that brings it back to life. In all the project has to have a balanced link with the Ospedale degli Innocenti’s initial project.
Making a harmonic space based on the method of Sezione Aurea ( Segmento Aureo).
Making a space that shows and emphasizes the place without hiding it.
Objectives:
Use simple, symbolic, stimulant and easily removable furniture with the aim to create a temporary space for the duration of 1 year.
Study and apply the method of Sezione Aurea (Segmento Aureo), inside the various areas of the project.
Create a border between nature and technology through the use of materials and colours completely opposite.
Know the requests and the needs that the place imposes while we are working on it, so that we are able to satisfy it through the use of contemporary materials and in our interpretation.
Methodology:
“The culture, the history, the absence, the losses and the usages of a place determine the way to follow for a good plan”.
This is the concept the designer followed for the project: to ensure that the project valorise, unsettle, influence, harmonize the background and the area but not starting from nothing, but starting and following everything that area is, everything from the positive to the negative but everything which could be found with research, analysis, concepts and ideas.
To be more specific, the methodology of this project is as follows:
-Research (doing a general and specific research on the area).
-Analysis and Ideas (through a complete research the designer starts an analysis and the development of concepts that for the designer can reflect the finality of the project and be in harmony with the place’s history).
-Metaproject, Sketches, Development Idea (choice of the best idea to follow and starts to arrange the space with sketches).
-Technical Drawing and Materials (transforming the idea from just concept to something real, through an elaboration of technical drawing and real materials).
-Conclusions (the designer explains in detail the effects and results obtained at the end of the project).
