For the Mexico Design Fair 2022, architecture and design firm S-AR unveiled their new pyrotechnic installation on the beach at Casa Naila in Oaxaca, Mexico, for an extravagant firework display. Developed through a collaboration between S-AR and the fireworks workshop of the Martínez family from Salamanca, Guanajuato, the tower-like installation has a delicate yet imposing presence. Standing tall in a lightweight cuboidal frame made of wood, metal, concrete and reed, the pyrotechnic display tower emerges from the flat beach and horizon as a vertical volume that is visible from beyond the site. In a reinterpretation of a traditional lighthouse, the tower re-enacts the concept of signalling light to a distant observer, while also serving as an adaptation of the spectacle of the sun at sunrise and sunset in this area of the Mexican Pacific.
S-AR produces the installation for the Mexico Design Fair 2022 | image by Mónica Garrido
With the pyrotechnic installation at Mexico Design Fair 2022 the Monterrey-based design studio wanted to explore the possibilities of design where fire, light and festivity are fused, to create an inspiring, jubilant experience for spectators. In design and concept, S-AR’s tower is symbolic, celebrating both the pyrotechnic craft tradition that originates from Mexico and the annual design festival.
In the daylight S-AR’s tower installation remains unlit, its dark wooden frame standing prominently against its backdrop of a clear, light blue of the sky and sea, and distant horizon. The natural light and natural, minimal surrounding context allows for a purer reading of the complexity and elegance of the structure for an appreciation of the design. At night, the structure becomes lost as it seamlessly blends into the dark sky while the pyrotechnic display commences. The light emitting from the fireworks suspends stark tones of white and yellow against the black canvas of the night sky, accentuating the entire space with an ephemeral quality.
the lightweight cuboidal frame is made of wood with metal reinforcements | image courtesy of S-AR
emerging above the horizon as a prominent vertical volume the tower is visible beyond the site | image by Jaime Navarro
the natural light allows for a purer reading of the complexity and elegance of the structure | image by Jaime Navarro
a celebration of Mexico’s pyrotechnic craft tradition and the annual design festival | image by Mónica Garrido
at night the structure blends into the dark sky while as pyrotechnic display commences | image by Jaime Navarro
the jubilant firework sequence by S-AR | image by Mónica Garrido
the tower re-enacts the concept of a lighthouse | image by Mónica Garrido
name: Mexico Design Fair Pyrotechnic Installation architects: S-AR | @stacionarq
location: Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
lead architects: Cesar Guerrero, Ana Cecilia Garza
collaborators: Orlando García
structural engineer & general contractor: Taller de Pirotecnia Martinez
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edited by: ravail khan | designboom
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