2008 copyright by .horhizon
.Theatre for Magicians, Rome
Author: Sara Shafiei
'Like all else in the world, magic cannot stand still.
It must either advance with the times, or fall behind them.
And, in this connection, the one quality which above all others
Is essential to progress is novelty.
Without novelty in some form or other, nothing can be achieved in the way of progress.
[But Magic] inventions are not derived from accidental ideas, happy thoughts, or heavenly born revelations.
Their origin is in the fact that inspiration, and always endeavoring to imagine novel combinations and novel applications of familiar devices.'
The Great Magician Nevil Maskelyne (1912)
The project attempts to portray how magic and illusion can become an inherent part of the architectural design, which foregrounds the engagement of the user in the building.
The proposal begins by exploring how Harry Houdini’s ‘Vanishing Elephant’ trick is manifested within Albrecht Dürer’s ‘cone of light and vision’ to merge showmanship, optics and illusion.
The resultant building, a Theatre for Magicians, is located in the National Botanical Gardens in Rome.
The building is situated at the peak of the site with picturesque views overlooking the site. The structure of the building is rooted in excess baroque ornamentation. The laser cutter is harnessed to create the detailed pattering on the façade of the building, allowing light to filter through the skin, creating a ‘glowing’ theatre in the hills, enticing visitors inside.
The use of perspectival illusions (such as text and cone anamorphosis) aid in the creation of a landscape of deceptions, whose ornamental tectonics are revealed to the dynamic spectator.