As part of the celebrations for\u00a0the 10th edition of the ‘Festival des architectures vives’<\/strong>\u00a0in Montpelier, France, \u00a0architects\/ designers Micka\u00ebl Martin<\/strong>, Margaux Rodot <\/strong>and\u00a0Beno\u00eet Tastet <\/strong>have created an installation titled ‘The Tenth Spring’.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The installation is inspired by Hanami<\/a>,\u00a0a Japanese traditional custom of admiring the ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossoms, the installation allows the spectator to plunge into a suspended moment. This timelessness evokes the imagery of petals gently detaching themselves one by one. Staging the springtime cherry blossoms invites passers-by to reflect on the intangibility of passing time, on the delicate balance between life and death, focusing on perpetual renewal.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Hanami in Japan<\/strong> (Photo Credit:\u00a0Dick Thomas Johnson)<\/p>\n

The ‘Festival des architectures vives’\u00a0takes\u00a0place on a yearly basis within the inner courtyards of selected town-houses and the installation celebrates the spring of cultural heritage. The courtyards resemble deeply anchored trees within the city’s historic centre, of which the displayed artworks would symbolize the ephemeral blossoming of its flowers.<\/a><\/p>\n

‘The<\/b>\u00a0Tenth Spring’\u00a0<\/strong>is a living installation that\u00a0takes place within the Griffy town-house courtyard. Throughout the day, viewers are exposed to the varying perceptions of the installation, as witnessed through the ever-changing reflections of the ‘petals’ on the surrounding historic windows. The foliage brightens towards the end of the day as the petals fall, renewing the experiences.<\/p>\n

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Staging this springtime scene involves layering discrete nets towards the sky, 10 meters high above the courtyard. Each day, 650 helium balloons are released to compose the ephemeral foliage. Variations in the volume of helium used to inflate, enables the balloons to descend throughout the entire day, reflecting the falling petals of the cherry tree. In order to renew the process across the the 6 days of the festival, approximately 4000 balloons and 7\u00a0cubic metres\u00a0of helium are required.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Once the balloons fall to the ground, a sign that spring is advancing, brings joy to children. For adults, joy is found in laying on the ephemeral meadows whilst having a picnic or to simply enjoy the moment, capturing the essence of the Hanami.<\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

+ The Tenth Spring<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of the celebrations for\u00a0the 10th edition of the ‘Festival des architectures vives’\u00a0in Montpelier, France, \u00a0architects\/ designers Micka\u00ebl Martin, Margaux Rodot and\u00a0Beno\u00eet Tastet have created an installation titled ‘The Tenth Spring’. The installation is inspired by Hanami,\u00a0a Japanese traditional custom of admiring the ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossoms, the installation allows the spectator […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[7677,4926,7675,7676,6633,7674],"yoast_head":"\n