Lugar Público

Notes for the Lugar Público [Public Place] Project Antoni Muntadas

“Public” is a term that has two main meanings: the first is associated with the idea of a common, shared, living space. The second refers to a group of spectators or vis-itors who watch and observe an action, event, or activity. The project for SESC Pompeia tries to bring these two concepts of “public” closer together, in order to define a project that is both total and specific to the place. It retakes a territory with multiple references of use and proposes a space to be traversed; a space of drift. There is no intention of configuring an exhibition that is closed in on itself, with a defined route. The idea is that of an open path, like a stroll, a journey in which there is an encounter with several elements distributed through-out the space. They are devices that serve to prompt reflection and questions in those who circulate there, especially about the proposal of a public place. These elements in the form of totem poles – recalling a historical sense, perhaps prehistoric – are a reflection, a question, a dialog between two illuminated phrases: “where are we going?” and “let’s move on”. These totem poles and the benches (with words en-graved on them that refer to the idea of movement – transit, transmit, transcend, transform) serve as pauses, stops, and breaks along the drift. And this counteracts an interpretation of place as a space occupied only by one or more bodies, or by an audience. The proposal echoes the concept of public place ex-pressed by Lina Bo Bardi, the architect who designed this SESC São Paulo facility, with the spaces underlining and activating the relationship between the SESC Pom-peia itself and its public. This is why we present here a project for the total occupation of the Communal Area. December, 2024