Metropolitan Design Center 2007 Undergraduate Travel Fellowship : Erica Eirschele

Erica Eirschele, Undergraduate, College of Design, 2007 Metropolitan Design Center Undergraduate Travel Fellowship Recipient.

Urban Design Implications of Traditional Festivals in Spain, Italy, Bosnia, and Croatia
Travel Fellowship Reflections

The focus of my research was the “Ephemeral Event”, in particular the dynamic festivals of Spain, Italy, Germany and Croatia.  Traveling for nine weeks I investigated the phenomena and history of summer public performances in Europe—from the streets to the stage, from religious festivals to playing in the sand, and from the ephemeral fireworks to permanent structures that were a part of these festivals.  I examined traces of events: river bank turned into a temporary beach (SandStation); landscapes transformed into a rainbow of color (Optikpark), and exterior spaces turned into an interior space (Palio). Theatrical, impermanent, and fascinating, these events provide community identity and generate tourism for their cities. 

Experiencing eleven diverse events in cities and villages, my research began with the Fiesta de San Fermin, commonly known as the Running of the Bulls, in Pamplona, Spain and continued with Festa del Redentore (Venice, Italy), Sommer Klassik Festival (Magdeburg, Germany), Optikpark (Rathenow, Germany), Sandstation (Berlin, Germany), Dubrovnik Summer Festival (Dubrovnik, Croatia), Split Summer Festival (Split, Croatia), Fallo’s Festa (Fallo, Italy), and the Palio (Siena, Italy).

To preserve the experiences in these places and of these events I used photographs, sketches, narrative record, and video to document the journey and to analyze the design and activities of the participants and audiences relevant to the event.

 





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