Art installation for XMas holidays
If you travelled to Fiumicino airport during the holidays, you will have noticed two large red bows wrapping the Lafuente towers. The towers are a building of historical and architectural interest which has been part of the Magliana area’s skyline since the late 1970s. Others may have noticed a third bow over Palazzo Argonauta in via Ostiense.
Indeed, all three bows were part of an artistic installation called ‘The Biggest Bows’, a project commissioned by Valle Giulia Real Estate (owner of the buildings). Conceived by Thirtyone Design, company founded in 2015 by Claudia Campone, it was created by FLY IN, the leading Italian company in the field of inflatables, with the project management provided by the Swedish designer Magnus Gustafsson.
Designed and built as a Christmas installation, it aimed at conveying the idea that the buildings were decorated like giant presents.
The large bows, with internal light, were mounted to the buildings without any anchorage.
The assembly phase required 4 suspended installers, called ‘riggers’ in technical jargon, experts in work at higher elevations.
Moreover, a mesh of cables in DYNEEMA nautical fabric was used: widely employed for the highest quality sailing boats, it is eight times lighter than steel and almost 15 times more resistant.
The bows can withstand winds up to 100 km/h.
PARTNER: ThirtyOne Design
2 bows on the 2 facades of Torri Lafuente (formerly known as Palazzo Esso, Parco dei Medici) connected to each other, 1 spool of wire on the lawn, illuminated at night
1 bow on the facade of Palazzo Argonauta (Via Ostiense) illuminated at night
- 7.8x23.5x13.3m in size
- Polyester 240gr/sqm
- Waterproof, translucent to allow indoor lighting, flame retardant CL 1- B1
- Weight: 110 kg
- Fabric Elements: 844
- Fabric total area: 743 sq. m
- Inflation: 12 minutes
- Installation: 12 hours (4 people)
- Interior Lighting: 320ml LED Tube
- Wind resistance: 100km/h
- Pressurisation: 220 Volt – 180 Watt – 52 db
