MAMPAE

URBAN DAYLIGHT DIFFUSION DEVICE

Year: 2017
Location: Genoa, Italy
Client: COSULICH SRL
Size: 70 sqm
Typology-tag: Exhibition installation urban public
Phase: Concept research, preliminary, definitive, detailed design.
Design Team: Matteo Orlandi, Martina Guasco, Caterina Galli, Andrea Belloni

"Mampae" is a Genoese dialect term derived from the Spanish word "mampara" which means “screen”. They are functional devices for capturing natural light and bringing it inside the dwelling. Although they belong to the tradition of historic Genoese buildings, they are still used in apartments on lower floors where natural light struggles to come in. Technically they are opaque panels of various materials placed outside the windows and tilted to allow light to bounce into the corresponding room.
The Mampae is a a public installation that transforms traditional screens into urban daylight-diffusing devices by exploiting existing walls of historic buildings in the port of Genoa, located directly opposite the windows of the offices to be illuminated.
The installation eventually becomes a landmark that attracts and guides people within the public areas of the Port of Genoa.