mezzo atelier's 'landscale' helps nature goers get some perspective

it’s easy to lose track of yourself when surrounded by landscapes of mountains, lakes, oceans and clouds. confronted with the enormity of nature, it becomes difficult to contextualize your sense of self — and that’s before you start thinking about the size of the universe. situated at the lakeshore of the blue lake of sete cidades on são miguel island in the azores, a seven meter long graphical scale, designed by mezzo atelier, is helping nature goers get some perspective. 

confronted with the enormity of nature, it becomes difficult to contextualize your sense of self

dubbed the ‘landscale’, the installation was mezzo atelier’s response to an invitation to create a piece for LAPA — land art project azores — at the edge of the water. the seat was crafted from cryptomeria japonica wooden beams, a very soft japanese cedar which was introduced in the past to the azorean islands. the black and white contrast of the bench was created by partially carbonising the beams after they were assembled. this process of burning wood surfaces, called ‘shou sugi ban’ was created in japan specifically for this type of wood, giving it a higher resistance to the effects of nature. 

at blue lake of sete cidades, a seven meter long graphical scale is helping nature goers get some perspective

mezzo atelier has been developing its design and self construction laboratory since 2013 in both italy and portugal, and collaborated with local carpenters in creating the landscale. the result is a graphical line that cuts across the landscape, natural materials creating a natural scale from which to take in the surrounding vistas. visitors are invited to reflect and respond to the natural geography, its graphical elements suggesting a practical answer to crushing magnitude of the world of world around us. 

mezzo atelier has been developing its design and self construction laboratory since 2013

the seat was crafted from cryptomeria japonica wooden beams, a very soft japanese cedar

the result is a graphical line that cuts across the landscape, natural materials creating a natural scale

a view over the bay where the piece was implemented

the building process involved local carpenters and mezzo atelier architects

the black and white contrast was created through partial carbonisation of the beams 

the arrival to the location

a military map of the sete cidades lakes

project info:

client: LAPA land art project azores
location: s. miguel island – azores, portugal
team: giacomo mezzadri, joana de oliveira
production: ventoencanado
suppliers & sponsors: ponta delgada municipality, sete cidades council and central de madeiras
photos: mezzo atelier, filipe tavares
video: ventoencanado

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: peter corboy | designboom