By Eleanor Gibson
Red slats create a wave-like movement when people play on swings in this temporary installation, which Chilean studio GT2P designed and developed for Miami Design District.
Conscious Actions was curated by Anava Projects for Miami Design District as part of this year’s Design Miami. The intention is that the structure’s dual movement is representative of the impact of human actions on the world, according to the studio.
“Our design responds to the Anava Projects – founded by Anna Carnick and Wava Carpenters – curatorial brief that asked our studio to reflect both on the energy that we consume and the energy that we contribute back to the world,” GT2P co-founder Guillermo A Parada told Dezeen.
“In response to that our project… invites users to enjoy the carefree fun of childhood again, while also being reminded of the direct impact every action has on our environment and our communities.”
The swings and the remaining structure is made of powder-coated steel. All the elements were laser-cut and included “little notches” to make assembly easier.
Key elements, such as the columns, beams and suspension system, were all welded together, but GT2P said it will still be possible to disassemble the structure and build it elsewhere.
A main challenge of the project was completing the construction amid Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. This meant that Santiago-based GT2P had to work remotely with its construction partners, including Atlanta-based creative design and fabrication company Altbld.
“The project was entirely designed, developed, fabricated and installed by Zoom and Whatsapp,” said Parada.
“It was a great challenge that prove that we can work from Chile to the whole world,” he added. “All through digital platforms in the middle of these challenging days.”
GT2P, which is short for Great Things to People, has still been unable to see the project since it was built.
“You can’t imagine how we feel just seeing all things happen just through videos,” said Parada. “We are rewarded with the great comments from the visitors from Instagram, Facebook and other social media like Tiktok – the swing is being used by children and adults.”
Conscious Actions opened to the public to coincide with this year’s Design Miami, which runs from 27 November to 6 December with both online and in-person events in the Miami Design District. Conscious Actions will remain open until January.
As part of the annual design festival this year, Dezeen teamed up with Design Miami, Perrier-Jouët, Miami Design District and Uribe Schwarzkopf to livestream a series of talks.
Called Dezeen x Design Miami, it included conversations between Dezeen’s founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs and Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, Austrian design studio Mischer’Traxler and Miami Design District founder and CEO Craig Robins, which are still available to watch online.
Photography and videos are by Kris Tamburello, unless stated otherwise.
