THE ARC

Exhibition details:

The name of the exhibition is seeded in the interpretation of the electric arc or spark as a transfer of potential. It is also a geometric metaphor for the three points (three role players) that go on to form an arc (architecture). Furthermore it is a symbol of collaboration and social communion interpreted from the biblical Noah’s Arc, required to surmount the obstacle of architectural degradation. It may be time for a flood and cleansing process to rid many from the vile perpetrators of inadequate and sub-standard architecture.

Background text:

REALITY
Traditionally the ‘Perit’ has been relegated to the role of laying out, legalising, engineering, and supervising the construction of shell buildings in an isolated manner. Society today, needs once again a holistic architectural process and practise to deliver high standard solutions that work in today’s reality and for the benefit of its users.

We think that historically ‘aesthetically un-ambitious and intensely practical and conservative’1 Maltese individuals are changing. Instead of forming part of an insular society with limited economic means they are more akin to mainland European thinking due to the new socio-political integration and the instant technological free flow of knowledge and information.

CONCEPT
Look around you. Everything you see is at your scale. The short film produced by Charles & Ray Eames, ‘Powers of Ten’ opens up our view to a journey from human scale to macro and back to micro. Through the journey one can identify striking similarities between scales that harbour secrets to unlock further possibilities of reality. At each of these scales is an immense network of energy and relationships.

We are using this parallel and focusing on the electric arc as a symbol of information exchange. We believe that frequent electric arcs (micro) between the core components such as clients, architects and contractors in a technological platform will produce an ideal architectural process (macro), which will result in Architecture being a dynamic and functional art form.

1 D. De Lucca. The Maltese ‘Perit’ in History. Melita Historica, 2005. [431]