The Treedom Social Installation in Alberobello

The Treedom at Light Festival 2023

The city of Alberobello, in the Puglia region in southern Italy, invited the YokYok studio to install The Treedom for the Light Festival 2023. Alberobello wanted to provide an artwork to be lived and enjoyed by its inhabitants in a central square of the city. The Treedom proposed by YokYok evokes an architectural landscape reminiscent of the forests that existed in ancient times. Designed for urban space, it has been adapted to the slope and pavement using local stones from one of the numerous quarries in the region. This interplay between modernity and local architectural history is based on the primary resource of this karst region: limestone, the origin of the famous Trullo architecture that made Alberobello a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Local Materials: Wood and Local Stones

The wooden structure was built by a team of builders on-site during the nights of one of the hottest weeks of 2023. It is structurally simple and low-tech: vertical poles, horizontal benches, stone weights, and a triangular pattern at the top made with a series of boards. The result is a sturdy structure, functional for communal use, delicately placed in a public square.

Labyrinthine Geometry, Getting Lost to Encounter

The benches and bar counters have a structural role: connecting the poles and stabilizing them. Since the installation has no foundations, it is directly placed on the pavement, which couldn't be drilled through as part of a UNESCO-protected site. On the other hand, they create social spaces for encounters through a labyrinthine circulation that invites people to get lost and experience the installation from the inside.

The Social Installation Comprises Simple Elements

Luminous Canopy - serving as a signal and symbolic silhouette

The lighting consists of 34 fluorescent T5 tubes with the support of the French firm Sammode, specialized in architectural lighting.

Functional Ground Floor, offering use, rest, and socialization

The project's concept is simple: connect all the poles toward the center of the Treedom with at least a bench or a bar counter, allowing free circulation on the square's pavement, making it inclusive and accessible for disabled individuals. Small spaces are created to encourage meetings and discussions.

Limestone Stones Play a Fundamental Role

The stones make the space somewhat chaotic, adding a natural touch to the geometric labyrinthine forest. They have a structural role in balancing the installation and stabilizing the pole bases in the direction not secured by a bench. These simple construction principles make the project economical, local, dismountable, and reusable.

Low Tech: Sustainable, Reusable, and Inclusive

YokYok designs for people. Creating encounters and social interactions are focal points considered essential in our post-COVID times, to disconnect from screens and enjoy authentic moments. YokYok believes in maintaining physical contact with space. Constructive details and simple materials like stone, wood, and warm light contribute to this goal. From "humble" materials like wood, stone, and physical effort for the project's execution, comfortable benches are achieved, promoting dialogue and reclaiming the quality of time that modernity is inexorably absorbing. An homage to low-tech, ultimately, the Treedom is a meeting place in urban architecture.