MAIO Architects from Barcelona are ​​the authors of the temporary installation Nursery.1306 plants for Timișoara installed at km 0, in Piața Victoriei, a special place for the inhabitants of Timișoara, as part of “Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023” cultural program. The installation was designed for the community, aiming to create a dialogue and connection between people, the environment and the public space.

Can you tell us more about MAIO’s founding story and the team behind it?

MAIO started as a platform to design some temporary projects, becoming a formal office around 2012. After some buildings and many projects, here we are, back to temporary architecture. We still value the short distance between the design of the project, its life and its end. This speed, completely alien to other manifestations of architecture, allows us to keep the conceptual ethos of the work steady. That’s very rewarding.

You are the authors of the temporary installation Nursery. 1306 plants for Timișoara. How would you describe the entire experience, from receiving the proposal to joining the project until its completion?

Due to the number of agents and institutions involved, projects like Nursery allow a complex activation of different intermingled layers, from its public reception to an urban approach or even to political aspects, especially related to the city and its management. Beyond defining a place for trees and plants to grow, the aim of The Nursery was twofold.

On the one hand, the installation can be seen as an open test for how public space can be used, designed, and perceived, which is critical to previous urban strategies. The management of public assets, such as the greenery and, more extensively, the urban spaces it creates, remain mostly hidden or unperceived. Considering the area’s future urban transformations, the proposal wants to open new perspectives and debates around the uses and temporalities of the city and its engagement. On the other hand, this was also an excuse to engage with various communities, institutions and visitors at large.

What is the meaning of the title? How did you choose the title of the project Nursery.1306 plants for Timișoara?

A Nursery is a temporary place. Plants grow for a certain time and then are relocated and find their final location. For us, it was important to add this layer to the project and provide the vegetation to different parts or communities of the city, erasing thus the centrality of the proposal and spreading the project towards other peripheral parts of Timisoara.
The decision around the final selection of places opens an interesting negotiation and a debate around the city at large. Also, referring to a specific number of plants is more engaging and more related to the idea of providing care to each of its 1306 vegetal guests.

You brought a new perception towards Victoriei Square, seen more as a transit area, and redefined how people connected with the city. How did the idea for the Nursery project come about?

Apart from defining a place to stay, we were also aware that the installation had to provide a new and refreshing perspective of the city. Verticality normally helps in that sense, especially when transforming a program which is normally understood horizontally into a vertical one.
The scaffolding structure had to be reused and follows the rational approach of the original Wardian cases or Paxton’s repeated, serialized, and constructive approach to his green houses’ design.

What challenges did you face while working on the Nursery project, and how did you overcome them?

When many layers coincide, sometimes the message risks remaining hidden behind the image of a folly, which we were consciously not emphasizing at all. It takes some time and effort to explain and make the public engage with the complex urban debates behind a temporary installation.

You have developed projects in different corners of the world. How would you define the specificity of the place/space that hosted the green-urban installation Nursery. 1306 plants for Timișoara?

The process and agents involved have been very welcoming. We have the feeling that there is a certain openness to do things that are not easy to find elsewhere.

It was probably the most visible project of the cultural program “Timișoara – European Capital of Culture”, but also the most controversial, if we can say so since public opinion had different reactions to the appearance of the installation in Piața Victoriei. However, the project was designed for the community. How do you explain this attitude towards the Nursery, and how do you think it contributed to the community and the city?

It is always difficult to assess the success of a project. Hundred-thousands of visitors could enjoy it, and many events and groups took part or were involved with the Nursery. We hope that part of the reflection and debate on how we manage and build our urban environments –and how citizens engage with them- will remain open, especially now that a new square is going to be built.

What future projects you are working on, and what can we expect from MAIO in the coming years?

Hopefully, the future will bring us more fun and interesting projects like this one. That is all we hope.

This journalistic material was made through the financing program Energie! Burse de creație, supported by the Municipality of Timișoara through the Center for Projects, within the Power Station component of the National Cultural Program “Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in the Year 2023”. The material does not necessarily represent the position of the Center for Projects of the Municipality of Timișoara, and this one is not responsible for its content or how it may be used.