The 57th edition of the Genoa Boat Show has ended, leaving as inheritance to the city of Genoa the “Piazza del Vento”, a work that is the result of the firm OBR, of Paolo Brescia and Tommaso Principi, and of the technical and manufacturing skills of the Capoferri company. Inspired by Renzo Piano, the “Piazza del Vento” is a gift from the International Boat Show to the city of Genoa.
“An installation created for a temporary event that becomes a permanent work, capable of creating a venue where to celebrate the rite of urban life on the sea, thus consolidating the unbreakable bond that exists between the Boat Show and Genoa”, explained the architect Paolo Brescia.
OBR imagined a “field” of 47 masts made of red cedar wood and white steel, 12 meters tall and linked one to the other with fabric stays on which triangular Dacron jibs are hoisted.
On top of each mast, multiple Windex elements are installed, sewn with coloured spinnaker fabrics in the shape of “flames”, which indicate the wind speed and direction.
A work to which Capoferri contributed its own technical experience in terms of both the executive design and the manufacturing process, in order to make it possible to create a sign representing the legacy of the Boat Show to the city.
A sound scape
Through a collaboration with the musician Roberto Pugliese, the architects Margherita Del Grosso and Matteo Orlandi designed a sound scape activated by the action of the wind.
A system of brass pipes of different length, arranged according to a precise layout among the masts, reflects the sounds of the “mare nostrum” with chords from a Mediterranean musical scale “played” by the wind.
“Who throws seeds to the wind will make the sky bloom”
The poet and street artist ivan (Ivan Tresoldi) with his group Artkademy, held a performance for the visitors of the Boat show, creating the anamorphosis: “Who throws seeds to the wind will make the sky bloom”.
In this project for the city, architecture and public art aim at the same common purpose: creating a space in man’s image, using visual stimuli and emotional ties for a place made by people for people. Source by Capoferri.
- Location: Genoa, Italy
- Architect: OBR
- Manufacturing: Capoferri
- Surface of the square: 500 m2
- Number of masts: 57
- Mast height: 12 metres
- Year: 2017
- Photographs: 57°SN / Studio Borlenghi, Carola Merello, Courtesy of Nemo Monti
