imprisoned beauties

ARTSCAPE HOTEl

Type: Master Plan & Hospitality

Location: Island of Favignana, Italy

Year: 2018

Status: Design Competition Proposal

Design Team: Armando Rigau, Silvana Herrera & Ryan Glick

Description: Project In the Mediterranean Sea, fata morgana is a recurrent phenomenon that transfigures visual experiences into mirages. While it is caused by atmospheric conditions, this optical anomaly has been witnessed for years by sailors who have associated it with witchcraft and magic. Its effects produce distorted, compressed, displaced, and magnified images. This project transforms fata morgana into a concept that overturns the existing site conditions into a “superior image.”

In the proposed architectural intervention, varied spatial typologies and configurations prompt diverse experiences that at once: convey the site’s memory and identity; invite visitors to reflect and meditate; and project a new direction for Favignana. At the abandoned Santa Caterina Fortress, art and design are to reawaken the cultural history and breathtaking landscapes of the place. At times, natural and man-made elements are brought into harmony, while others into discord, to inspire those who come here to CREATE, motivate those who come here to CONGREGATE, and – most importantly – to stimulate those who come here to CONTEMPLATE.

The design, a journey of self-discovery that takes place from sunrise to sunset, is organized around five key components:

(1) a CUT slices thru the mountain to create a social playground;
(2) visitors can meander in a continuous PATH to experience the landscape through art installations at different junctures;
(3) multiple VOLUMES organized around the CUT host the cultural programs;
(4) the existing PRISON is treated as an art-artifact, where visitors can meditate; and
(5) all areas converge in PLAZAS at either end, where sunrise and sunset can be experienced.