rain circus

During the visit at the primary school in Cossila, the designers considered that the most significant issue related to the educational orchards was represented by the water supply. The only water connection, inside the school building, was too far from the gardens. It was thus organized a design workshop in the presence of teachers and students, during which the kids showed a strong fascination towards natural elements, interspecism and symbolic spatial themes: the ‘island’ and the ‘hut’.

Therefore, the group focused on the collection of rainwater as a ritual with symbolic value. To fulfil this role, a flexible PVC water bladder was  placed on top of the lot as a rainwater collection device. Due to its ability to show in its swelling and deflation, the entrance and exit of water allows an understanding of the meteorological rhythms and ascribes a particular meaning to the use of water. It is a pneumatic architecture and at the same time a playful device, since the strength and elasticity of the material allow children to use the water tank as a toy.

This element lays on a larger circular footprint made of pebbles and lavender flowers, in such a way that only the tank appears as an artificial element. The circle is actually a gravel water drainage and storage system was designed, which serves as a base for the inflatable tank. The metabolism of the intervention takes place firstly between the water and the ground of the draining groundwork and then between the water and the air of the tank, atop of a pebbles island.