MIDDLEMAN - A device for the creation of a holistic art ensemble
Art Prison Competition
YAC - Young Architects Competitions
Lost Competition
Having acknowledged the unexpressed potential of Santa Caterina’s unique connotations, our project aims at celebrating the presence of the Fortress in the island of Favignana through the creation of a further sign in the landscape which brings its perceptual experience on a totally new level.
A new system of relationships is therefore created by one single, grand gesture. A massive podium, gently leaning on the sloped landscape, glorifies the fortress by using it as its center of gravity and establishes a new dialogue between castle, landscape and user. By working directly with the fortress and not just beside it, our project offers a 360 degrees, inward-outward relationship with the island’s main architectural gem and a new terrace for the fruition of world class art while immersed in a sensational landscape. The main artistic hub is inside the labyrinthic, dense spaces of the fortress and constitutes an ascensional journey, which culminates on the highest point of the island, the fortress’ terrace.
Following the fundamental circulation model in military architecture, our project offers the possibility to circumnavigate the existing architecture and to establish a direct, visceral experience with its mineral roots.
A lush, exotic courtyard space carved out of the existing stone represents a key distribution element, where the more private realm of the hotel merges with the public dimension of the Art Hub. Referencing Favignana’s quarry-gardens, it highlights the physical result of man’s relationship with the island and the peaceful coexistence of nature and artifice.
