The Studio Dunamis presents OPERAmobile, an adaptable device that integrates art, public space, and collective participation, transforming architecture into a tool capable of generating relationships and building new forms of shared experience.
Previewed on May 31st at Iper – Festival delle Periferie, upon invitation by its director Giorgio De Finis. OPERAmobile was at the center of a masterclass. The class was dedicated to the theme of public space. It focused on the collective enjoyment of art. The workshop also explored the role of architecture as a tool for connecting people, places, and cultural heritage.
A venue for dialogue, participation, and cultural accessibility
The meeting featured contributions from Dunamis founders Stefano Balassone, Lorenzo Cantalini, and Giovanna Marchei, alongside Isabella Clara Sciacca, journalist and communication expert, who offered a perspective on public space as a venue for dialogue, participation, and cultural accessibility.
The project stems from a reflection on displacement and the loss of the physical, emotional, and symbolic bond between community and territory following the devastating 2009 earthquake in the city of L’Aquila, in central Italy.
Taking shape from the experience of Piazza Santa Maria Paganica in the city, a space suspended between memory and rebirth, OPERAmobileresponds to absence through an active presence. A “machine” capable of welcoming, protecting, and relaunching art, giving a voice back to places and turning silence into a collective narrative.
OPERAmobile is born from the belief that no future is possible without the stubborn pursuit of the present, fueled daily by the perspective of resolving the emergency, of making it inhabitable, in order to transform the waiting into life.
explain Stefano Balassone, Lorenzo Cantalini, and Giovanna Marchei, Studio Dunamis
Conceived as temporary architecture that safeguards and exhibits artworks that would otherwise be inaccessible, OPERAmobile is a space open to the involvement of artists and galleries, a versatile and transportable structure, a catalyst for experiences, and a new tool for interaction between community, art, and urban space.
OPERAmobile does not stand as a finalized piece, but rather as a pro bono project proposal, open to the support of funders and sponsors, designed to return public spaces temporarily undergoing transformation or otherwise inaccessible to the community, while simultaneously ensuring the continuity of the artistic experience and the relationship with art.
About DUNAMIS
Founded in 2007 in L’Aquila, in central Italy, and led by Stefano Balassone, Lorenzo Cantalini, and Giovanna Marchei, the studio employs a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach, focusing on projects ranging from the restoration and recovery of existing buildings to the design of new architecture within established urban and landscape contexts.
They boast numerous completed works in both the public and private sectors across different typologies, including urban projects, residential housing, exhibit design, and school buildings, with a particular focus on spaces for culture and education.
Dunamis conducts ongoing research aimed at blending contemporary language with built heritage, exploring the interaction between materials, local construction culture, and new technologies. A dedication to sustainability and the relationship between human beings, buildings, and places guides every intervention, respecting history with an innovative look toward the future. Since 2022, Dunamis has been a member of the Green Building Council Italia.
Dunamis Offices
Piazza della Repubblica n. 17, L’Aquila, Italy
Via Palermo 13, Rome, Italy
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