SOLAR INDEX

SOLAR INDEX is a UV-reactive installation conceived as a spatial device that renders environmental forces perceptible within the public realm. It transforms solar radiation into something visible, inhabitable and shared. The project serves as a temporary climate shelter for the Santa Mònica terrace, providing a response to the site’s specific conditions.

The installation comprises two complementary elements that together create a layered spatial experience. Above, a canopy structure supports a UV-sensitive surface that provides shade and changes colour according to the intensity of the sunlight. These changes are not pre-programmed or simulated; they are the direct result of real climatic conditions. Below, an inflatable structure defines an inhabitable, permeable and open space at body level that responds to the same atmospheric forces through tactile and volumetric means. In this way, the work establishes a direct relationship between environment, material and body, bringing to light dynamics that often go unnoticed in everyday urban life. 

In dialogue with the curatorial framework of The Assault of Illusion, SOLAR INDEX’s architecture is driven by material response rather than representation or simulation. In a world dominated by artificial images and systems of digital mediation, the installation offers a physical experience that asks visitors to think about the impact of sunlight on the environment and everyday life. The climate shelter ceases to function merely as infrastructure and instead becomes a critical tool connecting perception, exposure and habitability.

The piece continues NAKED SPACE’s ongoing exploration of temporary structures, transient atmospheres and forms of collective coexistence in the contemporary city. 

Concept and production: NAKED SPACE

NAKED SPACE is a Barcelona-based spatial collective founded in 2023. Operating across design, curatorial practice and collective research, the project explores temporary structures, site-specific installations and participatory environments. Its work investigates how space can become a relational device, something adaptable, responsive and shared.

Through installations, performances and public interventions, NAKED SPACE develops atmospheres that question the relationship between body, architecture and shared experience. Its practice focuses on soft processes, fleeting materials and forms of social interaction that emerge through use and participation.

The collective’s guiding principle is that space is never neutral, but a living force that brings people together, heightens awareness and creates new ways of relating to one another within contemporary environments.