Elii 089 · Carriages of the Three Kings 090 · Carriage of Señorlobo

089 · Carriages of the Three Kings

Carriages for TRH Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar

As the sun set on 5th January 2016, Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar travelled the streets of Madrid on constellations of light, to be welcomed by hundreds of thousands of children.
The carriages of the Three Kings are built as a kaleidoscope of lights and mirrors, a dynamic optical device that is activated by the motion of the vehicles, playfully challenging the citizens’ perception. The sides, formed by reflective aluminium pyramids, multiply the points of light and their depth, and are topped by a longitudinal platform that allows the to-ing and fro-ing of Their Royal Highnesses and their Assistants during the parade. A space for the utilities is also included inside. The geometry of the pyramids also ensures the generators are correctly ventilated. Platforms at the front and rear serve to stack the bags of sweets that will be handed out during the parade.
Each of the carriages has a predominating colour that is nuanced with other shades, depending on the personality of each King: gold and indigo for Melchior, blue and purple for Caspar, pink and green for Balthazar. They also produce certain effects related to their respective occupations: for Melchior, golden confetti is launched high up into the air as a symbol of astronomy and gold. In Caspar’s carriage, smoke is produced to represent alchemy and incense. Balthazar’s carriage blows water bubbles, as a reference to botany and myrrh. The textures and colours of the props and the clothing of the Royal Entourage accompanying the carriages are coordinated with the unit as a whole. Lastly, the units project a series of musical pieces from their lands of birth towards the public, thus adding to the festive atmosphere.
The size and height of the carriages is set by a study of the visual elements of the roads, so that they can be seen by the largest possible number of children, be they on the front row, standing behind these or in the stands. On the other hand, the volume of the carriages is set in relation with the urban scale, creating links with the most important streets, squares, towers, blocks, etc, of the city of Madrid.

090 · Carriage of Señorlobo

Carriage of the Madrid Council, parade of the Three Kings, Madrid

The carriage of Señorlobo makes its way through the streets. It guides the Three Kings with the help of the attending public, to celebrate their arrival to the city of Madrid on such a special day.
Señorlobo floats through the city on a structure of thin rings of coloured lights. Its top is crowned by a technical space that houses the sound equipment, various lights and a smoke machine. Behind the rings, at the bottom, are the subwoofers. The assembly is supported on a towed platform and forms a sort of disco on wheels that carries the party and builds up the festive atmosphere before the highlight of the parade.
The carriage of Señorlobo interacts with the public, which has small mirrors to reflect the light from the carriage and guide the Three Kings as they twinkle.
The volume of this carriage is reminiscent of kids’ cartoons. The carriage forms an optical device that plays with the citizens’ perception and encourages them to interact with it so that everybody builds the event together. The size and height of the carriage are established by studying the viewing conditions in the streets. The top part is narrower so that it can be seen by as many children as possible. Furthermore, its volume is set in relation with the urban scale.

CRÉDITOS / CREDITS

Arquitectos / Architects:  elii – Uriel Fogué + Eva Gil + Carlos Palacios
Colaboradores / Collaborators: elii – Ana López + Ana Castaño + Claudia Pérez
Equipo de Diseño Cabalgata 2016 / Design team for the 2016 parade: Maral Kekejian, María Jerez, Jorge Dutor, Laura

Millán, David Picazo, Oswaldo Terrones, Ignacio Buhigas, Señorlobo y elii.

Construcción / Construction: Carroza de los RRMM: Scnik

Carroza de Señorlobo: Artefacto
Fotografía y Video / Photography and Video:

Imagen Subliminal (www.imagensubliminal.com)

Miguel de Guzmán + Rocío Romero

Gabriel Tineo + Álvaros Lagos
DATOS BÁSICOS

Fecha / Date: 05/01/2016

Emplazamiento / Location: Madrid

Architects: elii

eliimolinos
www.elii.es
info@elii.es
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28045 Madrid, SPAIN

elii carries out its professional activity in the following fields: Infrastructures, Urban Development, Public Spaces, Individual and Collective housing, Offices and Work Centres, Industrial Buildings, Ephemeral Architecture and Design of Museum Exhibitions and collaboration with artists. Elii covers all stages of the project, from the design phase to project management, working both in the public and private sectors, in Spain and Abroad. Founded in 2006 and based in the centre of Madrid, its founding partners and current directors are the architects Uriel Fogué Herreros, Eva Gil Lopesino and Carlos Palacios Rodriguez, all of whom have previously worked in architectural firms of international renown. They currently combine their work at elii with teaching (in several Spanish universities of international renown) and editorial work (UHF magazine). Their work and articles have appeared in specialized publications and exhibitions, having obtained recognition and awards for outstanding performance, amongst which are the FAD Opinion Award (2005), or the awards received from the Official College of Architects of Madrid “a la Obra Bien Hecha”(2006), “a la Obra de los Arquitectos” (2011), and “COAM Award” (2013) or the JustMad Award to Emergent Creativity (2013). They have been amongst those selected to appear in the “Arquia Próxima” catalogue (also issued by the Official College of Architects of Madrid) in its 2006-207, 2008-2009, 2010-2011 issues, having been recognized in this last one as one of the 10 most relevant teams of young architects in the region. They have also taken part in the “Madrid 100% Arquitectura II” (2011), catalogue and Itinerant International Exhibition, where one of their works was considered one of the top 100 by the Official College of Architects of Madrid. They were also similarly distinguished in the XII Buenos Aires International Biennial Architecture Exhibition (2011), recently selected as one of the “100 architects of the year 2012” in the exhibition for the KIA Korean Institute of Architects and the UIA International Union of Architects in Seoul (2012) and as a part of the exhibition FreshLatino 2 (2013). Elii is a member of the “Creadores de Madrid” and “FreshMadrid” archives.