Red Giant is a public sculpture project that produces energy through solar radiation. Te urban landmark/portal is composed of a modular structure of steel and photovoltaic glass. The study also included the public park master plan for the area. The project could be produced in different scale and environment, urban or natural.
The project is among the 65 finalists of the international competition LAGI 2019 - Land Art Generator - renewable energy can be beautiful:
For this reason it was published in the book LAGI 2019 BOOK - new energy landscapes from the land art generator initiative Abu Dhabi, published by Prestel and presented at the World Future Energy Summit which was held in January 2020 in Abu Dhabi.
Land Art Generator provides a platform for artists, architects, landscape architects and other creatives to work with engineers and scientists to propose sustainable energy infrastructure solutions that improve the city and public works of art and cleanly power thousands of homes.
THE ARCHETIPE
The work of Alessandro Pongan is organized around a central character: the Prono (prone, procumbent). We are faced with the invention of a contemporary archetype that to some extent establishes a dialogue with the Vitruvian Man drawn by Leonardo. The Prono is a character represented in different contexts, languages and formats, without ever losing his identity, even when joined by a series of collateral factors and figures. He is solid, geometric, archaic and pop at the same time. He resonates with overtones of the statues of Easter Island, of Mayan and Aztec imagery, but also Japanese manga and UFO-robots, graffiti and comics. He spreads tangible spiritual energy, a sense of mystery and pursuit of the meaning of existence. Like many archetypes, he has a dual nature. On all fours, a sign of sacrifice and subjugation, the typical posture of the oppressed. But at the same time an accumulator of energy. In the massive body, we sense the tension of a sprinter at the starting blocks. A creature utterly alert, waiting for the signal to leap forward. To break free of any constraints, any inhibition.It is no coincidence that Prono reminds us of another mythological figure: Cronos, the Titan son of Uranus (sky) and Gaia (earth). Prono is the symbol of the potential redemption that lies within us. He bows on the ground, but gazes forward. Beyond the horizon.
LAGI 2019 SITE TYPOLOGY: city portal
LAGI 2019 Abu Dhabi — Return to the Source — invited creatives to design an iconic work of art for a landmark site within Masdar City, Abu Dhabi using renewable energy technology as a medium of creative expression to provide on-site energy production consistent with the master plan of the city.
Masdar is the Arabic word for "source." As the name of Abu Dhabi's multifaceted renewable energy company and most ambitious low-carbon development, it is a reference to the Sun, the source of energy that sustains life on Earth, drives the wind and waves, and that over millions of years powered the transfer of ancient carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and into the ground, creating a climate habitable to humans.
"Source" also has meaning within the context of the Land Art Generator initiative, which was established in the UAE in 2008. The first LAGI design competition was supported by Masdar and the award ceremony took place at the 2011 World Future Energy Summit, where eight years later the 2019 LAGI design competition is launched.
The 2019's special edition is in partnership with the 24th World Energy Congress, the largest and most influential global energy event, that has been a forum for innovation and dialogue on energy issues for 95 years.
