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Winners of the Young Architects Program MAXXI merge theatrical sets, symbolism, and performance

Winners of the Young Architects Program MAXXI merge theatrical sets, symbolism, and performance

Milanese practice Parasite 2.0 has won the Young Architects Program (YAP) MAXXI 2016 competition with its installation MAXXI Temporary School: The museum is a school. A School is a Battleground. In its sixth year, the program to recognize young architects with a pavilion commission was organized by MAXXI in conjunction with MoMA/MoMA PS1 of New York.

Producing “mobile sets that erase the boundaries between natural and artificial,” Parasite 2.0 was selected for its ability to reflect the notion that contemporary architecture is the creation of a “scene.” 

This is done explicitly via the use of wood, rubber, and metal, all composed to form a pop-art-esque movie set on wheels. Vibrant colors, flashing lights, and even cactii cut-outs give the project the distinctive feel of Las Vegas.

Among the symbols that adorn Parasite 2.0’s sets is a crying luminescent emoji. Meanwhile, over-exaggerated forms and objects take on a satirical tone.

The mobile scene, said MAXXI, will be the “backdrop to the museum’s summer events and for the thousand-like selfies of its visitors, but also a reflection on the disappearance of the boundary between space and its representation.”

An international jury chose Parasite 2.0 as the winner due to its “project’s characteristics place it at the borders between architecture, set design, art and performance.” In a statement, organizers said, “Its victory was decreed by its playful, welcoming composition, the inclusion in the project important aspects relating to tis communication and “social” interaction and lastly its ties with a museum, theatrical and cinematographic construction tradition deeply rooted in the history of Rome.”

Parasite 2.0, primarily a production and research lab, is comprised of Eugenio Cosentino, Stefano Colombo, and Luca Marullo. Together, their work stems from the dynamic of architectural production and urban life.

The jury included Pippo Ciorra, Senior Curator MAXXI Architettura; Margherita Guccione, Director MAXXI Architettura; Hou Hanru, Artistic Director MAXXI; Monia Trombetta, Coordinator MAXXI Arte; Sean Anderson, Associate Curator of Art and Design MoMA; and Massimo Alvisi, Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners. The winner was chosen from a shortlist that also included Deltastudio (Ronciglione – VT), Angelo Renna (Prato), de gayardon bureau (Cesena), and demogo (Treviso).

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