Tour à vents

Location: Djerba, Tunisia
Project Duration: 2019
Surface Area: 10 sqm
Status: Completed

Project Summary

The idea is to freeze a whirlpool in nothingness in the void of the salt lake of Djerba. The circular motion created by a vortex that carries energy upwards.

A vortex that raises energy to the sky, a second can bring this energy from the sky to the ground. I double spiral and I cross the two entities, so that there is this perpetual dialogue of the ground and the sky. An upward movement and another downward movement that intersect through the occupant or the observer.

The complexity of the form lies in its realization, how can we make this double spiral in nature with means available and materials available. The idea is to fragment this complexity into simple elements, or how can we make curves with straight lines.

A rectilinear segment of wood will dance following a very precise curve and a counter curve to arrive at this image The project was carried out with a group of about fifteen students from the National School of Architecture and Urbanism, who traveled for a week on the island to build the structure.

The project being ephemeral, it landed like a UFO coming out of nowhere in the lagoon, calling passers-by on the road that joins the Roman road that connects the island to Zarsis. We come to touch it, take pictures with it, take pictures in it, climb it, film it …

A UFO which has come to land on the salty ground of the lagoon, to brush against it in a gesture of respect and humility, inside the vortex of the tower of the winds we hear the whistling of the quarter winds. Music that changes tone depending on the intensity and direction of the wind. Until the moment a wind blew a little harder than usual and the tower toppled to the ground, (possibly it was never anchored to the ground and it was intended to tip over).

The structure was erected towards the end of July and dismantled towards the end of September. The structure is dismantled, the pieces of wood are recovered and offered to a local organization in Djerba to have a second life. The act was The act is gone There is still a breath of wind that returns again and again as soon as we pass through the area.

the installation is collaborative work between Handover Egypt, Hasni & Hasni architects and the H2TEAM with both egyptian and tunisian architecture students.