Connector Mobile Village IX, Cholet

Studio Orta - 0709_a.jpg
Studio Orta - 0709_b.jpg
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Date: 2002
Ref: 0709
Matériaux: Aluminium coated polyester, reversible Solden Lycra, open cell polyurethane, silkscreen print, zips
Dimensions: 350 x 400cm
Catalogued: p134, Lucy Orta Body Architecture, Verlag Silke Schreiber 2003; p61 Lucy Orta, Phaidon Press UK 2003
Exhibition history: 2013 Hangzhou Fibre Triennial, China; 2008 Architecture and Design Center, Stockholm, Sweden; 2005 Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Holland; 2005 University of Brighton Art Gallery, UK; 2003 Lothring 13 Munich Germany
Courtesy: Courtesy of the Artists and Galleria Continua San Gimignano / Beijing / Le Moulin

Reflection on man’s relationship to the environment in which he lives is central to the research of Lucy and Jorge Orta. The temporary architectures they design to be easily transported and installed in any context not only physically define the territory of the community, but are also a metaphor of social relations. In this sphere, the artists have invented and produced the Connector Mobile Village, a system of modular, flexible structures that can form configurations and expand according to the needs of the community. The artists describe the project, created to grant identity and value to the group, as “a village ready to accommodate a potentially infinite number of persons”. Each individual unit can be connected to others in different compositions to form complex structures capable of serving larger numbers of people and performing different residential, educational and social functions. While facilitating cooperation among individuals, the work also encourages both independence and interdependence. Thanks to the nature of the structures, each individual has the possibility of connecting to or disconnecting from the sequence. The modular configuration permits preservation of identity and individuality, generating a settlement composed of private, personal spaces, joined in a homogeneous whole.