Mon(s) invisible is a Commissaires Anonymes + Constructlab project for the European Capital of Culture 2015 in Mons.

This team invited other European collectives to join the project for three weeks devoted to constructing the site and setting up the right environment and equipment so would invigorate and enliven the park for the entire duration of the project.

A process of experimentation involving a construction workshop, debates, festive brunches, concerts, micro-brewery, water games, traditional bread-making, and so on!…

Neighbours in the area, architects and artists from all over Europe were invited to reinvent a public space that was wide open to the population within an elevated park that had been closed since 2010.

The 9-metre high rooftop garden is a natural curiosity architecturally speaking. In fact, in order to shield it from possible military bombardments during the war, the building had been covered with a thick layer of earth to prevent any damage.

Over the years, nature slowly took over and a wild cherry tree, ivy and ferns now grows on it. In the late 1990s, the city of Mons decided to transform this garden into a public park with a playground.

The park was closed in 2010 due to vandalism and security problems. It was reopened for this project in the hope that solutions can be found and it can become an active and dynamic park for the city.

Warehouse took part in this process and participated energetically in the construction of the equipment in collaboration with everyone else Constructlab had invited.

We progressed from sleeping in tents at the beginning to building a modular structure to incorporate rooms in the middle of some trees.

 

These rooms provided comfort for the team during the construction phase and also for the next residents in the summer. Together, we built social areas with kitchen, bathroom, dry toilets, storage and a washing station. In the middle of the garden an agora was built as space for reflexion.

This circular-shaped structure plays an important role in the project because it serves as the main central meeting point, ideal for debate and reunion. A playground was also built around a handmade oven created for bread making by a local group of friends.

 

Team: Constructlab & friends + Commissaires Anonymes
Partners: Mons2015 European Capital of Culture
Collaborators: Rúben Teodoro, Ricardo Morais, Sebastião de Botton