Llar is a microclimate in the cold nights of Olot.
Llar is a Miesian pillar that rises 15 meters and is stabilized by tension with large basalt rocks. The tensioned cables simultaneously support the insulating and reflective canopy to preserve the heat.
Llar is primitive architecture that preserves fire as the first huts did. It is both structure and envelope.
Llar is a “escó”: a space within a space, preserving thermal qualities and intimacy.
Llar is a phenomenological environment of heat, light, shadow, and crackling.
Llar is a chimney — cheminée - chemin de fumée — that unfolds, exposing its interior, where soot appears as a witness to the rising smoke.
Llar is a thermodynamic combustion process that heats by refraction and expels smoke by convection.
Llar marks the Plaça Major with a cross, a central meeting point where the boundaries between the domestic and urban worlds dissolve.
The discovery of fire marked a change in the material conditions of life, providing warmth and protection, but also transforming social dynamics. Fire brought humans together, fostering interaction, the development of language, and the creation of communities. This allowed for the establishment of permanent settlements and the emergence of the first architectural structures: shelters that not only protected but also organized social space.
The Masies, vernacular architectures, show this link between fire, community, comfort, and architecture through their hearths. These hearths are not just furniture; they are architectural spaces within the domestic space, designed to guarantee warmth by the fire and create an intimate atmosphere. Once again, fire becomes the center of life, reminding us of its foundational importance.
Llar is an ephemeral installation for Lluèrnia, the festival of fire and light in Olot. A large community chimney rises above the façades of the Plaça Major in Olot, creating a microclimate that invites people to appropriate public space as if it were a domestic living room, generating a space for dialogue and reflection.
