The Orizzontale collective, a Rome-based collective of architects, has designed a wooden perimeter structure in the centre of Lugo, Ravenna, Italy, as a public space which allows citizens to gather and meet, play, and hold events and activities such as concerts, performances, or talks.
Designed for Edilpiu, an Italian designer and provider of customised solutions for doors and windows, the structure is called “LuOgo – Building the common space”.
According to Orizzontale collective, LuOgo is a “multifaceted space, an intimate yet public area, a permeable enclosure, an open-air room, a thin membrane that embraces a portion of public space, giving it new functions”.
The creation process took the form of a workshop open to inhabitants, students and young professional, lasting less than a week. Simple and functional modules, which make the construction site accessible to all, have been combined to define a unitary but heterogeneous architecture, where different uses can coexist.
Enriched with terraces, swings, slides and deckchairs, the wooden perimeter structure is equipped with LED lighting and screened by shading sheets and metal nets covered by climbing plants, to constitute a rhythm in the visual score and an impalpable protection filter between the interior and exterior.
The flexibility of the modular system allows infinite configurations, leaving room for unexpected outcomes that arise from the interaction between people.
Margherita Manfra, one of the founder of the Orizzontale collective, explained about the project: “The main square of Lugo is a monumental space, in which the layering of history has created a solid and lasting image. At the same time, this large, orderly and measurable space is crossed daily by discontinuous and unpredictable flows.
“In this dialectic between the defined urban context and the incessant transformation dictated by the human factor, ephemeral architecture, which is by definition transitory, finds a new topicality and new forms of expression.”
The aim of LuOgo is to bring the community back into the collective spaces of small urban centre.
