R 20th Century presenting Hugo França & Raymond Jungles

For this installation of Design On/Site at Design Miami/ 2010, Hugo França will sculpt the massive base of a Pequi tree that is more than 1,000 years old into a unique, site-specific work. França's piece will be integrated into a lush, tropical landscape designed by Raymond Jungles. The installation will be built on a monumental scale, allowing the visitor to walk around the space and climb into the environment, discovering the various elements on their own terms.  This environment is about exploration and taking risks, sustainability and the use of resources, and bringing forth the intrinsic quality of natural material. França and Jungles emphasize an approach to design that is intuitive and primitive, while integrating modern technologies.  A direct, organic approach to craftsmanship and the designer’s hand is the leit motif of this project.

França and Jungles share the philosophy that an equilibrium must be struck in order to let natural beauty speak for itself within constructed forms. It is a collaborative project about the natural and the built, about mores of natural beauty and idealized beauty.  These two leading creators in their fields propose an all-encompassing environment that is tropical, site specific and interconnected, and challenges the boundaries between design, art and nature. This project is timely given Brazil’s rebirth and the increasing recognition of its cultural vitality. Standards of beauty are in flux, with myriad global influences.  Miami is a crossroads of cultures. There is a strong community of Latin Americans in Miami, who take an active role in defining the city's cultural past and shaping its future.

www.r20thcentury.com