Transhumance.

Choreographed Preservation of Pastures and Rituals in the Pyrenees: Congregational Architecture of Felt and Wicker for a [post]Millennial Fire Festival

This project studies the abandonment and dissolution of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Pyrenees, namely Solstice Fire Festivals, celebrated in various villages all along the mountain range, and Transhumant shepherding, still practised by some along routes in the southern part of the Pyrenees.
It proposes to create modern vernacular structures with felt and wicker in the landscape; responding to the prevailing winds, these weaved clusters of chimneys will create primary and secondary congregational spaces for the participants to inhabit in preparation for the Ritual. Culminating in a ritual burning, the fire will spread through shrubbery, controlled with fire walls and breaks, bringing back pastures and balance to the ecosystem of the Pyrenees. The structures, ranging in density in response to the proximity of flames, will provide safety from which to experience the heat and light of the approaching fire as it spreads along the fire routes.
This project proposes to redefine Transhumance as a strategy to preserve ecosystem balance by speculating on nomadic forms of inhabiting the Pyrenees; proposing a non-religious form of [post] millennial pilgrimage through the Pyrenees and intensifying the intangible heritage of Solstice Fire Festivals.