EDAA scope: conceptual design
Construction area: 8 m² (86 ft²)
Design team: Luis Arturo Garcia in collaboration with Jesse Garlick
Event: competition for the Venice Biennale 2008.
Client: Ministry of Culture and Education of Cyprus, Cyprus Architects' Association
Relax_dais creates a new type of public territory on the island of Cyprus. The intervention reinterprets the beach as a major public space in Mediterranean culture. Scattered throughout the landscape, elements in the shape of circular platforms redefine the beach, giving it new meaning and perception, while asking residents and tourists to reconsider how they occupy the tidal zone. These precast concrete platforms adapt to a variety of conditions: from land, to rock, to sand, to sea, creating an archipelago of activities. New gatherings and multifunctional spaces wait to be discovered and defined. Opaque by day and luminescent by night, these circular stages contribute to a new layer of history.
