Témenos Art Pavilion
Témenos - Experience art in a new emotional way
Témenos – from the Greek ‘portion of sky, sacred enclosure’ – is a pavilion of the arts, an experimental museum, designed as a pause in the city, a space where individuals can converge their thoughts, feelings, and emotions to the highest degree through a one-on-one experience with art. It is a space that empties itself of everything except what it is designed to contain and enhances its content through multimodal sensoriality and the attentive regulation of sound and light. In fact, through curated soundscapes and attentive light design, the space tunes in with the biological body and mind allowing for a deeper experience of art fruition that transcends mere observation, transforming the act of perceiving art into a multi-sensory empathic experience. The space defies its compact floor plan, dissolving into the perception of the boundless and infinite: all visual distractions are blended out, prompting the observer to look without looking and to concentrate on the emotions triggered by the artworks. Stemming from extensive research in neuroarchitecture and a career-long investigation into how spatial design can influence consciousness and well-being, this project marks a pivotal exploration into the creation of spaces that resonate deeply with human psychological and neurophysiological needs.
Realised as a first prototype in 2019 as a fellow of the MADWORKSHOP Foundation (Los Angeles, USA), the space was nested inside a soaring Renaissance chapel in the North of Italy: Témenos extended down from the vaulted ceiling with its walls of translucent white fabric to create a new alluring interior space. After passing through the evanescent shell, each guest took a seat on the opposite side of the light-soaked room to experience their private artistic performance for one.