Architects: Langarita Navarro Arquitectos
Area: 6805 m²
Year: 2022
Photographs: Luis Díaz Díaz
Lead Architects: María Langarita, Víctor Navarro
Collaborating Architectes: Javier Estebala, Antonio Antequera, Fran Abellán
Inflatable Architecture: Espacio la nube. Álvaro Gomis, Hugo Cifre, Miguel Ángel Maure
Festival Organizers: Afronation + Rolling Loud
Promotores: Event Horizon + Rolling Loud
Backstage Managers: Elliott Jack, Dominik Prosser, Raul Caldeira & Theodora Karakassi
Execution Team: Roberto, André, Bruno, Cabral, Miguel, Igor, Janeta, Mauro, Ricardo, Hugo Morals, Luis Claudio, Andre Paulino de Oliveira, Gleison Barbosa Flor, Wallace Sousa, Mateus, João Figueirinha, Manuel Pires, David Castanheira, Felipe Henrique Otto, Jean Lopes
City: Portimão
Country: Portugal
Olimpo Nômade, designed by Langarita Navarro Arquitectos, is a nomadic city tailored for artists at music festivals. This innovative, lightweight, foldable, and transportable installation was first deployed on Portimão beach in the Algarve, Portugal. It offers musicians a unique space to prepare before performances and unwind afterward. The installation is designed as a “galactic” city that not only supports but enhances the festival experience, providing mythical yet practical infrastructure. It features devices that create shaded squares, outdoor recreation areas, an inflatable “donut” salon, bubble-like dressing rooms, and a reflective cubic palace for headliners. Intended to serve as the backdrop for legendary encounters, Olimpo Nômade is easy to store and transport, making it an ideal solution for the dynamic lifestyle of festival-going artists.
In its debut, Olimpo Nômade was set up on the sandy shores of Portimão beach in the Algarve, Portugal. The installation featured a series of devices tailored to the festival’s needs, creating a collection of squares and outdoor relaxation areas shaded by palm trees and fishing nets.
The palatine ensemble brings together a stretched donut, bubbles, and a reflective palace in an oasis of sand and palm trees, all designed to blend seamlessly into the surroundings.
The donut serves as a salon, a seamless, white inflatable structure spanning 500 square meters, intersected by a cylinder and a yellow triangular prism that act as airlocks, offering access and emergency exits. Inside, there’s a tranquil courtyard surrounded by palm trees.
The bubble camp functions as the dressing rooms, with each consisting of two bubbles of varying sizes. One bubble serves as the dressing area, while the other, with a large open view of the sky, provides a space for relaxation and fun with friends and team members before heading on stage.
The palace houses three dressing rooms for the “headliners.” It is a perfect mirrored cube, 9 x 9 x 9 meters, supported by a scaffold structure and pierced on each side by a 3 x 3 x 3-meter void that functions as a private terrace with independent access. The roof features a blue carpeted lookout with a reflective railing, giving the impression of floating above the surroundings. The structure appears almost otherworldly, as if it were brought from another planet.
The project’s goal is to offer the festival a practical, lightweight, durable, and foldable infrastructure that can be easily stored and transported in the fewest containers possible. It is designed to retain its aesthetic appeal for many years while preserving a sense of mythical monumentality—a portable Olympus for modern-day gods.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: 8500 Portimão, Portugal
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
