The Net

Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal

Temporary

400 m2

2023

The Net is an art installation developed for Boom Festival in Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal, in response to the 2023 theme, Radical Love. Conceived within a festival context where music, art, and performance become shared languages, the project proposes a simple spatial framework for reconnection. It offers a place to pause, to be with others, or to be alone, at a time when social isolation and disconnection have become increasingly present in everyday life.

Boom Festival is a biennial, multidisciplinary event with a strong environmental focus. Each edition is organised around a central theme that frames the festival’s programme and supports emerging artists through performances, exhibitions, and temporary installations. Radical Love provided the starting point for this proposal.

The project interprets love through three interdependent dimensions: towards oneself, towards others, and towards the Earth. Rather than treat these as separate ideas, the installation organises them as connected conditions. Three semi-enclosed areas form a small constellation of spaces, each offering a different degree of intimacy while remaining visually and spatially linked to the whole.

Rope nets are the project’s primary architectural element. They create permeability rather than enclosure, offering a sense of protection without closing the spaces off. The netting also acts as a structural and symbolic device. Its strength relies on the interdependence of fibres, reflecting the idea that relationships are sustained through empathy, trust, support, and care. The structure curves downwards, introducing movement and fluidity, and reinforcing the premise that love is not static, but continuously shaped over time.

A holistic approach informs the material strategy. Love towards the Earth is expressed through conscious choices and low-tech construction. The top and bottom rings and the vertical supports can be made from reclaimed timber or recycled steel, depending on local availability. The rope net is proposed in natural fibres such as hemp, jute, cotton, flax, or sisal, with an optional alternative using recycled textiles cut into strips. The lightweight canopy that provides shade is intended to be made from deadstock fabric or recycled material.

Status

Complete, Private

Client

Good Mood Productions

Design team

Diogo Sousa Rocha

Duarte Ramalho Fontes

Klaudia Trebska

Marta Pereira

Consultants

BISTO

Related Project

F/SIESTA

Logroño

Temporary