A poetic installation for a site undergoing a major transformation
Client
Ville de Laval - Cultural sector
Location
Laval, Downtown area
Year
2023
Services
Placemaking, tactical urbanism
Awards
“Pas de Deux” embodies Métamorphoses créatives, a cultural vision adopted by the City of Laval. Playing on the ephemeral nature of a soon-to-be urbanized territory, the experiential installation highlights a desire line crossing a vacant lot.
Exploring the nature-culture dynamic
Design influenced by the elements
The organic form is reminiscent of both the rippling wind, so present on the site, and the graceful movements of two dancers on a stage. Angled towards the sky at the entrances, the mirrors initially reflect the environment.
Gradually, the angle changes to reveal the bodies in motion. At the heart of the installation, the mirrors, now face-to-face, multiply the reflection of the moving silhouettes, transforming an everyday walk into a playful, intuitive urban dance. Leaving the hustle and bustle at the heart of the installation, the rhythm slows down. The dance fades. Bodies slowly drift away, a gradual return to everyday reality. In a fluid, helical form, like a stage, a rock-dust layout forms a dance floor.
Theatrical urban experience
The user experience is designed to be theatrical. Gestures are intended to be surprising, astonishing, perhaps even disconcerting. The human being is placed at the heart of the intervention, on an equal footing with the natural elements, which are also highlighted. The senses are activated. Curiosity encourages interaction, and the moving nature of the work encourages repeat visits.
The daily footsteps of passers-by sculpt and mark the landscape. Urban traces reveal people's daily routines. Like culture, wind is powerful, elusive and shifting. It sculpts and transforms the land. The light that bathes the path is staged and transformed as the day progresses.
An experiential installation that transforms a "practical" path into a playful one, revealing the close relationship between the culture of the place and the nature that shapes it. The intersection of the project's contextual forces galvanizes and shapes the marker. An occupation of space that manifests itself and materializes through interaction on a human scale.
Flexible, transformative structures
The 24 prisms that make up the installation are clad with removable panels, allowing them to be dressed as opportunities arise. These same prisms can be reconfigured to offer a new experience and meet the needs of a new site.
Collaboration with Félix Dagenais, narrative designer
Photos: Raphaël Thibodeau
