PARA-MAT!

Tutors:

Roland Dániel Németh (HU), Anett Farkas (HU)

Workshop description:

The aim of the workshop is to create a woven mat, which can be applied as a tool of social connection. The intricately woven elastic rubber plane can take many forms, defining more traditional spaces – pergola covered yards, sunshades at the beach, market or grocery store roofs – or adapting to more recent needs – taking the form of festivity tent, party arena, café etc.
We will use strips of bicycle tires to create the parasol structure, which will be supported by nearby structures (buildings, walls and other infrastructure), sometimes touching the ground, becoming wall, sometimes being the roof.
The pavilion will change its place. We will use the elastic properties of the rubber stripes to change the form of the structure; parts of the mat with more densely woven stripes will be less elastic, parts with less density will be more elastic. The use of recycled plastic stripes will enable us to restructure the surface tensions, according to the to the form of the new function.
The pavilion will house a number of different interventions throughout the city. The last 4 days of the workshop are dedicated to holding performances throughout Cadiz (coffee on the less frequented squares, party – tent on the beach) and adapting the prototype mat to the new uses.

One of the possible interventions could be to have an easa brunch in the city, together with the inhabitants of Cádíz, on a busy street or square, to encourage its public use besides transportation.

Initially, the participants will form groups of 2 or 3, which will explore the possibilities of  woven rubber, and build models. At the end of the 2nd day of the workshop, we will decide for one of the ideas to be realized, and the whole workshop will be working on that project then. We will leave the formfinding to the participants, to enhance commitment, but we plan to have a backup, working mat-version to be realized should the participants have trouble finding a realizable mat layout.