Architecture News

A distinctive red and white circus tent now graces an open area in Logroño, its pointed roof drawing the gaze skyward before merging with the surrounding cityscape. For Concéntrico 2026, Chilean architect Smiljan Radić presents 'Circo' as a transient architectural piece imbued with historical resonance. Its design reflects themes of movement, restoration, and the peculiar sense of community fostered beneath its textile canopy.

This installation is a key component of the festival's 'Identity and Fiction' program, which explores the urban environment as a tapestry woven from visuals, traditions, and shared narratives. Radić delves into this concept through an architectural form known for its mobility: the humble circus tent, capable of being dismantled, transported, reassembled, and filled with people within a short timeframe.

Smiljan Radić's inspiration for this project stems from the itinerant circuses that frequent Chile's central coast each summer. These modest shows often appear on local football fields or vacant lots, remaining for a few days before vanishing, leaving minimal physical traces. Their construction is straightforward and cost-effective, typically using inexpensive plastic sheeting, similar to the material found in large industrial bags. This material is integral to the structure's character; sunlight filters through it, its colors gradually fade with each journey, and the tent itself endures through the continuous repairs performed by its owners. In Logroño, this concept of delicate resilience is reinterpreted into a twenty-meter-diameter circus, repositioned and brightly colored for a chosen plot within the city.

While outwardly simple, the tent's internal structure reveals a sophisticated temporary system. A central mast anchors the circular plan, from which radial lines extend, maintaining tension across the canopy. Sections of red fabric punctuate the lighter material, creating a dynamic visual effect on the roof that shifts with the changing light. Inside, the atmosphere is informal and inviting, with screens interspersed among folding circus chairs. Joris Ivens' 1963 short film, 'Le petit chapiteau,' a seven-minute piece filmed in Valparaíso, plays asynchronously, adding another layer of artistry and memory to the constructed environment, merging moving images with the physical space.

Radić connects this endeavor to the work of Chilean artist Eugenio Dittborn, who dispatched large, folded canvases in plain envelopes globally during the dictatorship era. This comparison imbues the tent with both political and material significance. Much like Dittborn's 'Pinturas Aeropostales,' the circus can be packed, transported, unfolded, and placed into entirely new surroundings. This inherent portability is the essence of 'Circo.' The installation transports an architectural element typically found on the city's periphery to the heart of an urban festival. Utilizing fabric and projection, it crafts a space that, while temporary, feels profoundly present. Its structure is light, yet its symbolic weight is considerable.

Concéntrico has consistently employed ephemeral installations to redefine the public's interaction with Logroño, drawing residents and visitors into its squares, courtyards, and unused spaces with fresh perspectives. Radić's tent aligns perfectly with this ethos, leveraging a familiar form that evokes childhood memories, popular entertainment, and architectural innovation simultaneously. By positioning a Chilean circus tent in Spain, 'Circo' transforms a borrowed structure into a public interior. It not only pays homage to the legacy of traveling performances but also highlights architecture's power to briefly appear and reshape the perception of a location. For a few days, the city gains a fabric-enclosed room filled with air, imagery, and scattered seating, before the tent embarks on its next journey. This fusion of transient design and cultural storytelling offers a fresh lens through which to view urban landscapes and the communal experiences they facilitate.

Alfredo Tamayo, a Mexican artist and architect, has initiated "Alburrigueresco," an innovative artistic research and material production project. This endeavor reinterprets the grandiosity of Mexican Baroque architecture through the lens of modern commercial items and materials typically found in informal markets. The project stems from observations in downtown Mexico City, where colonial-era buildings stand alongside a vibrant array of merchandise, transient structures, and bustling street economies. Instead of relying on conventional architectural substances, Tamayo's work incorporates everyday objects like plastic cups, laminated packaging, Cheetos encased in resin, mannequins, printed fabrics, and metal frameworks. These humble materials are then reconfigured into architectural elements such as pediments, moldings, columns, and niches, forming what he calls "meta-architectures." These creations do not aim to faithfully reproduce historical Baroque styles but instead activate its characteristic visual elements of abundance, embellishment, theatricality, and layering within a contemporary urban setting.

Tamayo's project unfolds through temporary installations strategically placed in public spaces across Mexico City's historical core. These transient artworks generate a fascinating visual tension between the city's architectural heritage, its informal commercial activities, and its evolving material culture. Their presence disrupts the ordinary rhythm of urban life, prompting onlookers to re-examine the familiar objects, textures, and symbols that define their environment. "Alburrigueresco" posits that ornamentation is not merely a relic of the past but an active force in attracting attention, shaping identity, fueling desire, and facilitating communication within popular urban contexts. Each intervention acts as an independent chapter in an ongoing exploration of architecture, consumerism, shared memory, and the aesthetics of contemporary Baroque.

Ultimately, Tamayo's "Alburrigueresco" project celebrates the dynamic interplay between history and modernity, high art and popular culture. By transforming mundane urban detritus into elaborate artistic statements, the work encourages a deeper appreciation for the beauty and complexity embedded in everyday life. It highlights how art can emerge from unexpected places, offering fresh perspectives on our urban landscapes and challenging our perceptions of value and aesthetics. This fusion of the traditional and the contemporary serves as a testament to human creativity's boundless potential, reminding us that inspiration can be found in the most ordinary of things, fostering a sense of wonder and encouraging us to engage more thoughtfully with our surroundings.