On the occasion of the b-side festival for contemporary art (Portland, UK), the work Tyrolia Mundus was created in cooperation with architect Alexander Kozlov. As in many coastal regions, the development of new building land for (luxury) real estate is a controversial topic on the Portland peninsula. Against this background, we presented an absurd construction project by the fictitious Tyrolean real estate developer Tyrolia Mundus: a construction sign and a website (tyroliamundus.com [see archived version here]) announced the edification of two large apartment buildings (“Haus Wörgl” and “Haus Kitzbühel”) in the style of Alpine hotels. In addition, a local realtor’s window screens featured a slide show promoting the apartments. As a fourth component, we assumed the role of Tyrolia Mundus public relations consultants to guide groups of visitors around the prospective construction site. Among many other details on the project it was revealed on these tours that the rock pinnacle Nicodemus Knob, which is one of the one of Portland’s landmarks, would be incorporated in the private estate.
Although always presented as part of the b-side festival, the project provoked some hefty reactions by the local public, especially on social.
Our special thanks to Alexander Kozlov for designing and CAD simulating the buildings, to the b-side team for their very enthusiastic support of our multimedia work, and to the Real estate Bureau in Easton for the opportunity to use their display window.
