Floating Fest

Goal: A three-day event of public activities supported and urban installations in regards to “Festival dell’Aqua. The objective is to raise awareness about the importance of water in our everyday-life practices, throughout a series of conferences that take place in the Darsena area.

The concept is based on particular characteristics of the Darsena canal (Milan, Italy), which was used for transportation and production of food up to the 1600’s (irrigation of the nearby farms). Therefore, the conceptualization of the canal as a body of water and its surrounding environment help to project the theme of Floating in three different forms.

Firstly, the word Floating is strongly associated with the act of movement. The installations attempt to induce a constant flow of people throughout the space, as well as the exploration of all the different activities in the site. Movement also includes objects. Floating elements in both land and water are the components used for the urban installations. The last correlation is the one of movement related to the notion of knowledge and sharing ideas, which is embedded in the conferences and social events.

Secondly, Floating is used in the context of creating blurred boundaries. This means no clear division between land and water or land and air. All installations displayed in both the canal and streets are represented with cohesive patterns, elements, colors and materials.

Finally, Floating is also interested with the notion poetry and fantasy. The proposed event conveys a message about water and its importance through playful environments associated with dreams and wishes. Thus, the installations seek to invite users to participate in explore the multiple stages along the Darsena and Naviglio Grande canals.

Mobile Connection

An important component of the project consisted in also activating the space through the use of a mobile app. The application would provide an introduction of the event, the story behind it and the duration. In addition, it would allow the users to access the geographic information of the activities, registration forms, maps and augmented reality. These elements would help to reinforce the three goals of the movement concept: moving people, elements and knowledge.

By using the same visual elements and identity (such as icons, colours, fonts, style) we would help users to create a strong connection of the virtual and the physical.