This city deserves its own moon.
Reacting to climatic conditions, The Murmansk moon will rise high up in the sky or disappear deep into the ground. During daytime, it will shine like a bright star, reflecting the sunlight and its surroundings. In the dark, it will shine like a full moon, lighting up the park and the landscape beyond. The visible appearance and disappearance of our moon will also connect and give the park a deserved visibility in a redefined skyline of Murmansk.
Attached to the proposed moon is a gondola, which can carry up to 15 passengers high up in the altitudes of Murmansk.
Back to the ground, our story starts with a trail along the periphery of the Varnichnoe lake.
Situated within the perimeter of the lowest plateau of the park, our proposed installation frames and celebrates what seems to be a forsaken body of water. This zigzagging plateau connects to the existing paths, which we propose to rehabilitate. This installation is conceived to draw visitors away from the urban condition and onto a nebulous stage, an open platform for the public to perform and interact.
Along the proposed path, which we define as a” promenade” theater, a number of performance “instruments” are placed. These instruments should produce sound, light and other visible and tangible forms of life. It will feed from the creative energy of the community and the visitors from beyond the borders of Murmansk.
In the gut of the park is the crater. It is where the moon hides when at rest.
It will be a favored destination where site specific, periodic experimental performances will take place. It will also be the connecting point from which visitors will access the gondola for their ride up in the sky of Murmansk.
1. The Slope : Is a 45 m x 15 m open-air wood structure, with 36 steps oriented towards a 10 m x 15 m stage.
2. The Square: Is a 18 m x 18 m open-air wood structure , with 9 steps on all for orientations framing an 8 m x 8 m stage
3. The Arena: Is an 18 meter diameter open-air wood structure, with 8 concentric steps framing an 8 m diameter circular stage.
4. The Crater: Is the landing and anchoring site of a 25 m diameter helium balloon. The Balloon has a circular gondola attached to it, which can carry up to 15 people. When ambient wind speed is under 25 km/h, the balloon can rise up to 200 m, taking its passengers for an exceptional ride in the altitudes .At rest, the gondola is parked at the bottom of the crater and a 6 m diameter circular stage is placed in the gondola, turning the Crater into an experimental performance space. Depending on weather conditions, the crater can serve indoor or outdoor performances. The audience as well as the performers can conquer the 450 m long ramp that starts at deck level and twirls down 25 meters below ground.
5. The reflective Moon: Is a 25 meter diameter helium balloon to which a micro perforated reflective p.v.c membrane is applied. During daytime, the membrane reflects the surroundings (inside the crater at rest, or the surrounding landscape in altitude) At night, the balloon, which houses a powerful light source in its center, becomes an artificial moon that can be seen from far, bringing light to the park and the surroundings.
6. The Promenade theater is a 22500 square meter zigzagging plateau. Which is connected to existing paths within and around the park. At its center, it frames the Varnichnoe lake, and acts as a platform / base to the crater as well as other more conventional outdoor performance stages. The lightweight nature of its structure, its slight elevation from the ground and its construction materials will preserve the organic connections and the relationship between the existing body of water and its natural surroundings.
