Aldo Rossi’s Teatro del Mondo—a temporary structure designed in 1979 to travel between Venice and Dubrovnik as a venue for cultural events—stands as a paradigmatic example of the dialectic between the specific and the generic, challenging the rigidity of architectural form. To Perform follows a similar line of reasoning, seeking to articulate a proposal that is simultaneously embedded in the particularities of a given context while remaining adaptable to new challenges and diverse temporal scenarios.
The architectural proposal unfolds through two complementary gestures, which together articulate the duality between the rigidity of a foundational form and the openness afforded by its counterpart. The first gesture consists of a rectangular base volume with a cruciform plan and four equivalent openings, suggesting a construction of great versatility. This configuration allows the internal space to be adjusted according to shifting needs, with the arrangement of stage and audience reconfigurable in dynamic ways. Spatial choices are thus not fixed, but rather open to evolving conditions of use, permitting new readings at each instance. Flexibility is further enabled by the use of movable furniture and by adhesive tape lines placed on the floor—temporary markers that define space provisionally while opening up a wide field of possibilities for exhibition or performance configurations.
The second gesture, an extended exhibition line, articulates the relationship between the volume and its immediate urban context. This linear device enables fluid interaction with the surrounding public space, offering a more informal engagement with the “unprepared” passer-by who, while traversing the city, may encounter the structure unexpectedly. Such a non-impositional language in the public realm not only challenges conventional formats of exhibition design but also underscores the accessible and democratic character of the project, suggesting that the urban fabric itself may be invaded and even contaminated by the formal gesture.
The modularity of the construction—achieved through the use of standardised, easily assembled elements requiring minimal cutting—constitutes a strategy that reinforces both efficiency and sustainability. Structural simplicity, realised through the superimposition of components and the interdependence of façade planes, not only enables swift and effective assembly but also conveys an impression of lightness and flexibility. This system highlights the reciprocal reliance of each element while evoking both the levity of the parts and their gravitational interplay, recalling Richard Serra’s One Ton Prop. Here, materiality is not merely physical but symbolic, alluding to the transience and fragility of temporary structures.
Finally, the interior of the volume proposes a distinct experience: a hermetic space in contrast to the dynamic exterior. Blue panels, arranged like feathers, endow the space with an abstract atmosphere, evoking intangible elements such as the sky or the sea. The choice of blue, with its capacity to summon vastness and immensity, creates an immersive backdrop that amplifies the abstraction of the environment, reinforcing the idea of a space freed from immediate material contingencies. It thus offers spectators a more introspective and contemplative experience.
2025
Location: Coimbra, Portugal
Programme: Pavillion
Surface: 60m2
Competition: Finalist
Client: Forma Festival