Located in the Can Bordils building courtyard, it questions its very nature. Conceived as a source of natural lighting and ventilation, a huge black sphere suspended in it blocks the entry of light, eclipsing it.
With more than 11,000 visitors, the Insólit festival is consolidated as one of the most important ephemeral architecture competitions at European level.
Description of project by Martillo Neumático
The Eclipse installation, carried out by Martillo Neumático, has been chosen since it responds radically and convincingly to the theme proposed by the organizers: contradiction. The jury has especially valued the conceptuality, the technical performance and the final result of the execution.
After a first public competition with more than 150 participants and 76 proposals from several countries in Europe, six projects were selected to be integrated into different courtyards of the historic center of Palma de Mallorca within the framework of the Insolit 2019 festival. In its fourth edition, the festival has registered an attendance record of more than 11,000 visitors.
Eclipse questions the nature of the courtyard of Can Bordils. Originally conceived as a vacuum that allows natural lighting and ventilation, a huge sphere suspended inside blocks the entry of light. The void is no longer empty and the penumbra eclipses space. Faced with the heavy tectonics of the stone walls, the whiteness of its reflections and the classic language of the existing building, a large black mass intersects the walls with more than five hundred years of history. Throughout the day, natural light penetrates through the intermediate spaces between both bodies creating an atmosphere of great mysticism.
The proven origins of the courtyard of Can Bordils date back to the end of the 13th century. During the following centuries it underwent various reforms until in 1647 it became property of the Bordils family, which gives its name to the building today. It represents a remarkable example of the historical architecture of the island as well as guarding the Historical Archive of Palma de Mallorca. Its composition is square with an interesting cloister in its perimeter. Its walls rest on stone arches supported by hexagonal pillars that rise from a stone floor.
On this occasion, the professional jury composed of Mauricio Barrio (product designer), Patricia Juncosa (Curator and Director of the collections department of the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation in Mallorca) and Guillem Aloy (Architect and Ciutat de Palma research award) has awarded the prize to the project carried out by the architecture students Iñigo Barrón, Mon Cano, Jerome Llorente and Román Sost gathered under the name of Martillo Neumático.
