On a wide avenue in Mexico City stands an innovative arched canopy made of 1,497 mugs. The architectural installation titled Portal of Awareness was designed by Michel Rojkind of Rojkind Arquitectos, one of eight artists commissioned by Nescaf to produce a public art piece in celebration of the coffee maker's 60th Anniversary.
The main guideline for the campaign called Despierta a la Vida, translated as Awaken to Life, is for each artist to use a maximum of 1,500 cups. Rojkind and his team used nearly all of the allotted materials for their invigorating design in a gradience of color on the red spectrum. The fiery mugs are attached to intersecting reinforcement steel rods to form the temporary mesh tunnel for pedestrians and cyclists to pass through.
The netted pattern of the urban installation allows for sunlight to filter through and cast changing shadows over the course of the day. There are also two planters at each base of the structure whose vines will eventually grow and wrap itself around it. Portal of Awareness is currently installed on Paseo de la Reforma and scheduled to be available to the public through December 3, 2012.
