Studio Studio Studio, the new interdisciplinary lab founded by Edoardo Tresoldi, designed Gharfa, an experiential pavilion installation made of wire mesh and cork, inspired by local ruins.
This project, commissioned by the Diriyah Season Committee, is situated in close proximity to the At-Turaif District in Saudi Arabia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about to undergo a major developmental upgrade that includes the opening of a plethora of museums and cultural institutions.
Inspired by local ruins, the pavilion presents itself as a large, complex structure. The installation is made of a double layer of wire mesh, filled or clad with cork in some places to illustrate the outline of a ruin.
“Gharfa stages the intimate relationship between man, landscape and architecture through the reinterpretation of the human relationship with cultural archetypes,” Studio Studio Studio states in their press release. “Visitors experience a theatrical world where technique, reality, and illusion are all intertwined.”
Inside the installation, the use of a carpet acts as a counterpart to a sky made of artificial clouds and adds a touch of traditional Arabian cultural heritage. Greenery intertwines with the industrial materials.
Gharfa is accompanied by a semi-transparent fabric based installation called Duna, made by Alberonero, which symbolises a white horizon.
Gharfa is part of the temporary creative project “Diriyah Oasis”, designed and curated by Dubai-based studio Designlab Experience, and located in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.
Photos: Roberto Conte / Studio Studio Studio