THE KISS

THE KISS

THE KISS

The Kiss is an encounter between a book and a landscape. Between two wooden giants on a chessboard, two crowns like kings and queens moving together in a ballet of words. Designed as a mini amphitheater, it invites people to shelter and sit surrounded by books. Structures are mounted on caster wheels to insure an easy use and displacement across the piazza.
Its theatre shape reminds of roman arenas which used to be the heart of democratic life in the city. As of today, circle and half circles still carry this strong symbole of unity and exchange. A festival is a cross-path between a people and different arts. It is under the wise eye of the churches of San Giuseppe, Sant’Agostino and the Torre dell’Orlogio, that this encounter takes place, facing the Mediterranean horizon. The pavilion acts like a kinetic object, attracting curiosity to invite visitors to come closer.
Shelter for books and for humans, the Kiss is an assembly. Two distinct elements sometimes polarized on the piazza, sometimes perceived as one contemporary object, in conversation with architecture. Just like a book, the pavilion is a container to be open, a sanctuary for thousands of stories. Not only is the Kiss a place to read other stories, it is a place of reunion. Conferences, interviews, even first kisses, can happen within it.

The Kiss is an encounter between a book and a landscape. Between two wooden giants on a chessboard, two crowns like kings and queens moving together in a ballet of words. Designed as a mini amphitheater, it invites people to shelter and sit surrounded by books. Structures are mounted on caster wheels to insure an easy use and displacement across the piazza.
Its theatre shape reminds of roman arenas which used to be the heart of democratic life in the city. As of today, circle and half circles still carry this strong symbole of unity and exchange. A festival is a cross-path between a people and different arts. It is under the wise eye of the churches of San Giuseppe, Sant’Agostino and the Torre dell’Orlogio, that this encounter takes place, facing the Mediterranean horizon. The pavilion acts like a kinetic object, attracting curiosity to invite visitors to come closer.
Shelter for books and for humans, the Kiss is an assembly. Two distinct elements sometimes polarized on the piazza, sometimes perceived as one contemporary object, in conversation with architecture. Just like a book, the pavilion is a container to be open, a sanctuary for thousands of stories. Not only is the Kiss a place to read other stories, it is a place of reunion. Conferences, interviews, even first kisses, can happen within it.

Thanks to a rational and repetitive principle, the pavilion could easily be built remotely by a local constructor in Taormina Italy, we could send simple drawings and colour references, and follow the building process from Paris.
The pavilion is a Ø 2.5m circle, split in two parts that can either work together or separately. The height is 5m, for a total weight of 1130kg. It consists of 12 modules assembled together. Conceived as a mini amphitheater, the Kiss is a simple structure, made of 14 wooden batts bound together by circular shelves, and enclosed by an open-work skin giving it a visual porosity while offering a sensation of protection. Thanks to an open-work skin made of standard cleats of section 30x20mm directly screwed on the shelves, the structure allows the wind to pass through.
The overall geometry guarantees stability and prevents the pavilion from falling, and the weight is concentrated on the bottom part of the pavilion. When assembled together, both halves can easily be locked one to another for the night, and keep books safe. The structure is mounted on caster wheels, with lock function, in order to easily install the pavilion on the piazza, and change the configuration by displacing each element.

Thanks to a rational and repetitive principle, the pavilion could easily be built remotely by a local constructor in Taormina Italy, we could send simple drawings and colour references, and follow the building process from Paris.
The pavilion is a Ø 2.5m circle, split in two parts that can either work together or separately. The height is 5m, for a total weight of 1130kg. It consists of 12 modules assembled together. Conceived as a mini amphitheater, the Kiss is a simple structure, made of 14 wooden batts bound together by circular shelves, and enclosed by an open-work skin giving it a visual porosity while offering a sensation of protection. Thanks to an open-work skin made of standard cleats of section 30x20mm directly screwed on the shelves, the structure allows the wind to pass through.
The overall geometry guarantees stability and prevents the pavilion from falling, and the weight is concentrated on the bottom part of the pavilion. When assembled together, both halves can easily be locked one to another for the night, and keep books safe. The structure is mounted on caster wheels, with lock function, in order to easily install the pavilion on the piazza, and change the configuration by displacing each element.

https://files.cargocollective.com/c899523/Abitare-June-2021.pdf

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yfxjctqzf4zo4eh/The%20Kiss%20%282021%29.mp4?dl=0

http://www.geiger-hijlkema.com