Floating Stones

AA Nomination

Leulinghen-Bernes, France

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Prima Competition 2024

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With Duru Yolac

We envision a pavilion of gathering, where heavy stone “balloons” appear to float lightly atop slender steel columns. This paradoxical composition invites curiosity, contrasting the raw roughness of stone with the smooth, recycled concrete base that anchors columns and provides seating. Conceived as a tripartite system—concrete base, steel mediator, stone crown—each element is celebrated and remains modular. Pieces can be rearranged or dismantled, allowing circulation and seating to adapt over time. Like true balloons, no two stones are identical: their variation and irregularity embrace nature’s randomness, creating a forest of floating crowns that feels both grounded and surreal.