The emptiness of the city needs to be filled with wonder, all it takes is a friend, a wooden frame and some hay. A sudden living room, the countryside squeezing between the grey buildings, a stage for street musicians and distracted young people. A distinguished man, with the smile of a child, throws himself into the hay, without too many questions or thoughts, just instinctively.
Yves Klein’s famous photograph Leap into the Void shows the artist leaping from the roof of a house. Central to this shot is the feeling of freedom, despite the fact that it is a crazy, almost suicidal act. The element of impact is the city, with its bricks and concrete streets, which is experienced as a limit. A limit into whose recesses vegetation creeps wildly and in whose voids dreams and emotions take shape. This liberating act, thus described, is a starting point. The strong aroma of hay, on the other hand, is an immediate reminder of the rural environment, that of the countryside of the past, where fodder often became a bed, a soft and welcoming space, a pastime to play with. The contrast between city and countryside transforms an urban void into an idea.
The project’s basic module is the hay bale. We think of hay in its various forms, baled and loose, interpreting this change of state starting from traditional types of storage (dryers such as the Trentino arfa or the Slovenian kozolec) and the rural custom of accumulating sheaves. The result is an enormous container with a compact base and a fluffy top where you can dive in, sit, lie down, relax and enjoy.
JUMP! is a portable and easily assembled structure; it is a sustainable project, made of certified wood with zero environmental impact; it is a versatile installation, which can occupy a parking space in the city; it is a small urban reserve, which, in addition to the dip in the hay, can be used as an area for artistic performances, an open-air cinema or a picnic area.
Enjoy & JUMP!
DESIGN: Alessandro Zorzetto, Luciano Aldrighi, Francesca Modolo, Jacopo Toso, Luca Vivan
Greenfactor Award 2011 winning project category crafts in green
Winning project at SUN.LAB competition, Rimini fiera, 14 > 16 October 2010
Terraè sustainability workshop, Pordenone, 4 – 5 June 2011
Dolomites UNESCO Labfest, Val Badia, 5 > 7 September 2014
go to the photogallery link