by DENARA Architecture Studio

A revival of interest in investigating the complex relationship between home and public space, was spurred in 2020 by the lockdown due to the covid-19 pandemic, when domestic walls prevented the equally intimate perception of our city dimension.


1. Top view of the floor plan with living rooms | Antonello Zoffoli©

 

The objective of Home as Hometown was therefore to theoretically investigate the changes to which such dimension was subjected in the last few years, whilst physically positioning a series of living rooms within an architectural drawing of the cruciform floor plan of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, in full scale. The purpose of such intervention is not only to celebrate the everyday dynamics of social interaction, but to elevate them to a sacred status by inscribing them within a traditional votive space.


2. Aerial view of the project in the industrial context in which it was performed | Antonello Zoffoli©


Inviting the audience to participate and make use of the space was also key to the success of the installation. For a whole week, locals and passers-by were encouraged to engage with the ephemeral living rooms – some people played cards, others decided to sit and relax on the sofa, others enjoyed a pizza and a chat with friends. Furthermore, given the unusual nature of the project, this was taken as a scenography for an urban dance show.


3. A scene from everyday life that took place during the event | Antonello Zoffoli©


Working on the terrain vague through an operation of filling the space through the encounter and the presence of the individual creates the possibility of seeing with new eyes the current absence that characterizes the place's object of the intervention.




DENARA Architecture Studio↩, Calandrini Nicol, Rambelli Francesco, and Tavaniello Boresi Mirko