Ceramic clouds and super organza from Japan
Kengo Kuma's architecture for Casalgrande Padana became an ethereal digital experience at Milan's Fuorisalone. Together with the Japanese studio's team, we created a large-scale immersive video mapping between Yin and Yang and an intangibly light fabric: transparent super organza.
From Casalgrande Padana
to the Università Statale di Milano
The project's goal was to surprise and engage the Fuorisalone audience: architects, stakeholders and journalists. To convey the poetry of Kuma's architecture, we created a communicative environment that worked both by day and by night.
First the work in Reggio Emilia, then its translation to Milan
The Ceramic Cloud work for Casalgrande Padana is a monumental wall, a kind of experimental research construction, created by the Kuma studio using the ceramic materials produced by the company. At the Fuorisalone we were asked to evoke the Reggio Emilia project through a scenographic installation.
An immersive video mapping
The project team's idea was to create an environment in Milan that was more evocative than descriptive. Using advanced moving-head projectors, we managed to break away from the classic syntax of frontal video mapping. To make the visit more immersive, we created an unprecedented 360° mapping across the cloister's 900 square meters and the organza's 36 meters. Thanks to a few clever tricks, visitors couldn't identify the projection sources. This way, stones and fragments seemed to glow with their own light.
Digital technology. Analog experience.
Animation and motion graphics allowed us to treat all the physical elements of the scene as a custom-designed digital set. The installation phase took four days (and three nights), while the work was visited by hundreds of people throughout Design Week. Below are some stages of the process.
PROJECT CREDITS
For Casalgrande Padana
Special thanks to Mauro Manfredini, Nadia Giullari and Cesare Brizzi.
Design team
Studio Kuma & Associati + Studio Visuale
Concept and creation of the digital installation Studio Visuale
Project management and creative direction: Francesco Pia.
Motion graphic: Gabriele Rivoli.
Graphic design and touchscreen user experience design: Daniele Balcon.
Location support: Alessia Ferraro.
Project team: Tomaso Cariboni, Corrado Loschi, Michele Zannoni.
Installation concept Studio Kuma & Associati
Project team: J. Villar Ruiz, R. Umezawa, M. Piccinelli.
Project born from the dialogue between University and Industry
With the valuable help of: Alfonso Acocella University of Ferrara, Luigi Alini University of Catania.
Installation service and multimedia creative consulting
6to6 – Diego Moretto with Massimo Pasqualon
Video projectors
Robe Multimedia
Lighting programming
Luca De Candido
Cloister lighting
Mario Nanni - Viabizzuno
Video report Studio Visuale
Sound Design
Federico Pelle – The Basement
Communication and press office
Nadia Giullari, Elisa Grisendi, Sara Costi, Veronica Dal Buono
Photos
Photos of the first gallery on the page: Peppe Maisto
All other photos: Studio Visuale.
