Manuel Ocaña Architecture has added mirrors, mist clouds and overgrown vegetation to a private swimming pool in Madrid, which is depicted in this movie along with a splashing mermaid.
Photographer and filmmaker Miguel de Guzmán created a fantasy scene to showcase the features of Manuel Ocaña's installation, which was designed to screen a 15-metre-high grey wall that flanks an infinity pool in the client's back garden.
The elaborate project involved adding 33 circular mirrors to reflect the sky, surrounding greenery and the pool. The architects also integrated vegetation and clouds of water in a bid to attract birds.
As the day passes, the climate, light and reflections of the wall change.
"The concept must go far beyond a regular vertical garden," explained the architects. "A simple green wall does not keep it from still being a wall."
"We proposed an active element that reacts to light and climate issues, with reflections, vegetation and sprayed water," they added.
"Besides creating a new horizon, it 'climatises' the garden and creates new spaces and tours on it. To be clear, it is a toy that can recall their previous sunset experience."
The first step was to erect a modular structure in front of the offensive wall, providing a frame to attach the mirrors to. Featuring various sizes, the mirrors are stainless steel and curved to avoid glare and excessive heat reflection.
The architects describe them as having "the appearance of metallic petals".
The vegetation was then inserted to add "more depth to the thing", while 60 nebulisers were used to produce a fine mist of water.
To highlight these features, Madrid-based Miguel de Guzmán created a movie entitled Splash.
It features a mermaid diving into the pool, while the wall creates flashes of reflected light, and also sprays clouds of mist into the air.
"The main idea behind the movie was to show the changes on the garden installation during the day, also to communicate the feelings of the particular atmosphere it creates," said the photographer.
"The mermaid was a sort of object-trouve," he said, explaining the idea behind the costume.
"We found it on the site before shooting – it belongs to the owner's children – and decided it was perfect for the unreal atmosphere of this particular installation."
Splash follows a series of unusual architectural movies created by Miguel de Guzmán with his studio Imagen Subliminal, which he runs in partnership with Rocío Romero.
Others include a horror movie set in kiosks of a temporary street market and a day-in-the-life film that follows the resident of an apartment with moving walls and secret furniture.
Photography is by Miguel de Guzmán and Rocío Romero.
Project credits:
Design: Manuel Ocaña Architecture, Thought Production Office
Production: Manuel Ocaña Fast and Furious Production Office
Landscaping: Jorge Basarrate
Structural consultant: JF de la Torre
