The point of departure for PLATEAU BLO, a project by the Space & Design Strategies Department of the Unversity of Art and Design Linz is the way that the covered shore zones of Traunsee lake are dealt with. The shore zones are allocated to private homes and hotels, cut through by thoroughfares or are inaccessible and can only be reached via the lake. PLATEAU BLO adds a new, mobile construction site as a counterpart in water to the coveted properties on Traunsee lake: during the European Capital of Culture year, a floating island structure consisting of 3 to 4 platforms will move across Traunsee lake. PLATEAU BLO expands the landscape and backdrop with thoughts, space and area. It is easily visible from the shore and yet not particularly easy to reach. A kind of coveting comes into being which varies significantly from that of the regular tourist attractions. PLATEAU BLO shakes up the body and soul, causes slight dizziness, stimulates reflection and makes the topic start sweating. Instead of static images of the lake, a living image comes into being, a floating tableau vivant.
The project will begin in 2023 at the University of Art and Design Linz. Beginning in January 2024, students and instructors will adapt a vacant building in Gmunden and work there for several months. They will build platforms and room modules, experiment with materials and constructions and, at the same time, activate a space that was previously vacant. An open workshop for experimental raft building, an outdoor kitchen, a camp for guest artists and workshops for all of the questions surrounding the building of rafts will come into being.
The platforms, which will be connected to each other, will be anchored 20 meters from the shores of the lake and will remain there for several weeks until they are taken to other places in the direction of Altmünster, Traunkirchen and Ebensee. The platforms are each configured differently and can be used in a variety of ways: platform 1 is open and mostly empty. Platform 2 is a research station for artists in residence. Platform 3 will be used for performances and exhibitions and a sauna that can be used year-round will be built on platform 4. PLATEAU BLO is a statement against exclusive ideas of property, a dynamic position for open thinking, a fluid place for new perspectives about the sea, landscapes and architecture.
