DRAGON SKIN

In 2013 the department for building and transport in Basel approached me about a task concerning art in public spaces. A 100m long retaining wall at the “Margarethenstich” in Basel should be panelled to resemble the skin of a dragon.

The scales of the reptile skin and their multi-facetted possibilities of arrangement are the basis for the design and supporting framework of the retaining wall. Varying patterns and colours as well as overlapping elements and inflections were considered.

Diamond-shaped ceramic tyles in warm earthy colors fit in dynamically with the retaining wall and suggest a winding dragons body through their wavy, contorted shape.

This project is a symbiosis of structure and artistic form.

CREDITS

Location: Basel, Switzerland
Type: Design proposal for panelling supporting wall
Year: 2016
Material: Terracotta Ceramic
Client: Department for building and transport in Basel
Art Director: Ferdinand Facklam
Concept: Gaetano Castiello, Felipe Pecegueiro do A. Curado, Ferdinand Facklam
Colour concept: Ferdinand Facklam, Marina Konstantatou
Computational Designer: Felipe Pecegueiro do A. Curado, Marina Konstantatou
Visualization: Aron Lorincz
Photographs: Ulrich Stockhaus