This work was commissioned by Helios Automazioni, a leading company in automated technologies for the stone industry, as an example of what their machinery and software can do.
The project I was requested is a piece of unconventional urban furniture and this is what I developed: a racetrack for marbles...made of marble. Something to bring child play back to the city square, where it once belonged in most Italian cities.
While the piece that was actually manufactured is a 1:4 scaled reduction for exhibition purposes, the full scale version is three meters long. It includes a small seating spot at one end for an adult to look over the children at play. The top surface is modeled in order to permit different racing paths so the players can decide for an easier or a harder route before beginning each game. Formally this piece is solved as a micro-architecture, a quote of Rome's Circo Massimo, a place dedicated to horse racing in aincient times which is now an archeological site with just a few ruins. The top surface is both functional to the game and evocative of an architectural ruin that was crafted by wind and rain. Furthermore the combination of this surface with the sharply cut vertical walls is functional for the purpose of showcasing the impressing possibilities of machine work.
The stone of choice for this scaled down version of the Circo Minimo is a beautiful piece of white Carrara.
