"PAVILION OF FINDINGS" AT 2016 POHODA FESTIVAL
As a part of the Visual Stage at 2016 Pohoda music festival in Trenčín, Slovakia, a Slovak visual artist Gabriel Hošovský exhibited an interactive lonely hearts pavilion. This temporary work was intended primarily for single people attending the festival. Of the 30,000 visitors, about 500 experienced the walkthrough maze, in couples. In the words of the artist himself: "We have lost our natural interpersonal habits. We look for partners on the Internet, using smart GPS applications, and we have lost the ability to deal with chance meetings, talk, take somebody’s hand, blush, look in the eye, say yes, and say no. Or even risk rejection... The artwork “Pavilion of Findings” tries to change this. The pavilion of interpersonal relationships works on the principle of voluntary participation, random choice, arbitrary repeatability, and openness."
A random dice toss determined if a participant could enter. Even numbers were desired, think in couples. Tourniquet doors opened only when two participants were ready on both sides of the pavilion, coordinated by staff. Two entry sides were separated by a wall obstructing the view. Two corresponding corridors joined into one space and a new couple met without having seen each other before. A pavilion path had solid and void walls framing views and providing opportunities for collaborative inquires based on the couple’s conversation and no forced outside objects. As a place to reflect and look ahead, an elevated platform before the exit overlooked festival venues, a local castle, and a sunset vista.
After the pavilion was conceived and graphics done in collaboration with a graphic designer Dorota Hošovská, the author invited me to give advice on building methods, collaborate during the actual assembly and disassembly, and oversee the pavilion’s use and staffing during the festival. We opted to use a self-supporting panelized system locked into stable L-corners which were laterally braced on top. A few key points around the perimeter were anchored with rebar loop ties hammered to ground. In a team of three (the artist Gabriel Hošovský, another local architect, and I), it took us 125 man-hours for assembly, whereas disassembly took us 25 man-hours. The pre-assembled panels were made to order at a local factory specializing in palette making.
A random dice toss determined if a participant could enter. Even numbers were desired, think in couples. Tourniquet doors opened only when two participants were ready on both sides of the pavilion, coordinated by staff. Two entry sides were separated by a wall obstructing the view. Two corresponding corridors joined into one space and a new couple met without having seen each other before. A pavilion path had solid and void walls framing views and providing opportunities for collaborative inquires based on the couple’s conversation and no forced outside objects. As a place to reflect and look ahead, an elevated platform before the exit overlooked festival venues, a local castle, and a sunset vista.
After the pavilion was conceived and graphics done in collaboration with a graphic designer Dorota Hošovská, the author invited me to give advice on building methods, collaborate during the actual assembly and disassembly, and oversee the pavilion’s use and staffing during the festival. We opted to use a self-supporting panelized system locked into stable L-corners which were laterally braced on top. A few key points around the perimeter were anchored with rebar loop ties hammered to ground. In a team of three (the artist Gabriel Hošovský, another local architect, and I), it took us 125 man-hours for assembly, whereas disassembly took us 25 man-hours. The pre-assembled panels were made to order at a local factory specializing in palette making.
