Gold Winner of the International Architecture & Design Awards 2026
Catharsis
Pop-ups, Temporary & Modular Structures
Completed / Built / Professional Category
Architect / Designer:
Simona Garufi
Studio:
Simona Garufi Studio
Design Team:
Commissioned by: ASCALE
Copyright:
Feelmar
Country:
Spain
Catharsis, presented at Marbella Design & Art 2023, explores the dialogue between architecture, emotion, and technology. This immersive, temporary installation transforms space into a dynamic environment where art, design, and performance converge. Black-and-white porcelain sculptural elements define the spatial layout, while video art, original music, headphones, and responsive lighting create transformative experiences engaging sight, sound, and touch.
Three circular tables with acrylic panels display excerpts from Beckett, Lorca, and Pirandello, connecting visitors to dramaturgical references and linking literary art to the architectural experience. Interactive modules guide perception and movement, encouraging exploration, reflection, and introspection. Innovative materials and textures enhance engagement, while the interplay of light, sound, and spatial surfaces blurs the boundaries between observer and participant.
Visitors enter a fluid atmosphere where sound waves and light pulses orchestrate a journey of self-discovery. The installation fosters collective awareness while allowing intimate encounters, making the audience both observers and performers. By merging sensory stimulation with architectural design, Catharsis challenges conventional notions of space, positioning it as a medium capable of evoking emotional and cognitive resonance.
The layered narrative evolves with each interaction, emphasizing the materiality, tactility, and performative qualities of the installation. Catharsis transforms architecture into an active participant, creating a reflective and expressive journey that resonates with contemporary experimental design practices.
Catharsis demonstrates how architecture, technology, and art can converge to create a meaningful, participatory, and immersive experience that engages visitors on both emotional and intellectual levels. This work exemplifies how temporary installations can generate lasting spatial, sensory, and cognitive impact within the context of contemporary experimental design.
Simona Garufi Studio
Simona Garufi is an Italian architect and interior designer based in Madrid, whose work explores the intersection between space, emotion, and performative experience. With a background in architecture, scenography, and visual culture, her practice focuses on creating immersive environments where materiality, light, and technology shape narrative-driven spaces. Her projects integrate theatrical strategies, sensorial layers, and experimental uses of sound, video, and lighting, blurring the boundaries between interior design and art installation. She collaborates with international brands and cultural institutions, developing concepts that combine innovation, emotional depth, and spatial storytelling. Throughout her career, Garufi’s work has received multiple awards recognizing her experimental approach and her ability to merge architectural precision with experiential design. She continues to explore new formats where space becomes a transformative, human-centered encounter.