IN FULL BLOOM

WARDE is a creative and fantastical urban installation that is public art, infrastructure and security measure in one.

In Vallero Square, Jerusalem, a unique installation of giant flowers has been mounted in an open market square in the heart of the city that blooms and reacts to the pedestrians and transportation in the public space.

Created by Israel-based firm HQ Architects, the urban installation known as WARDE is positioned at the entry of the main open market and next to a tram station. Composed of four 9m-high by 9m-wide inflatable flowers, WARDE is part of the municipality’s effort to improve the urban space of the city center.

Divided by the tram line into two urban spaces, with no supported program around them, the existing square is in poor condition - made worse by inevitable urban facilities such as waste composters and an electricity sub-station that a patchwork of ongoing landscaping attempts to fix the non-coherent environment couldn’t save.

HQ Architects' objective with WARDE was not to fight the chaos, but instead to try and “tighten up urban space”, to spread around such fantastical elements that they would overcome the reality of the square on one-hand, and be able to stand for themselves in the non-realistic situation of Jerusalem on the other.

Four giant flowers were carefully positioned to be viewed from all around the square and from the market nearby. Each individual flower inflates separately in reaction to the situation around it. When pedestrians approach the flowers fill with air, fully opening to offer shade and shelter, then deflate when they no longer sense someone in the vicinity.

The same process happens as a tram approaches the nearby station. When the tram approaches all four flowers inflate at once, alerting pedestrians to the tram’s imminent arrival.

Equipped with LED lighting, the installation also illuminates the public square at night, adding additional functionality and security to the public space.

Unique in its ability to directly engage with the environment around it, WARDE is a dynamic street installation that offers this urban area of Jerusalem a new and distinctive experience.

CONTACT
HQ Architects
P +972 3695 1496
E office@hqa.co.il
W www.hqa.co.il

PROJECT PARTICULARS
Location Vallero Square, Jerusalem
Architects HQ Architects