The installation “L’arrivo al mare” by Gae Aulenti was a piece of XIII Triennale National Exhibition in Milano in 1964. The exhibit was dedicated to “Leisure Time” and it focused on a time of holiday and human striving to nature. The exhibition narration was divided and developed in three phases: past, present and future.
“Arrival at the sea” was thought to reveal a moment of joy – a vitality explosion. The design is a special reference to one of Picasso’s paintings from 1922 – “Two Women Running on the Beach” (The Race). The visitors enter a dynamic space with a sloping floor, which pretends to be a seashore. The walls are fully covered with huge mirrors, which make an impression of continuous and endless space. It is full of warm and dazzling light. The calm sound of a sea is made by a large slowly rotating roller. It is placed under the ceiling at the end of the room. This acoustic effect is visually amplified by the presence of large corrugated sheets placed on the ceiling. The sheets also filter the light coming from windows above.
There are also 11 double-layered cartoon statues spread in the room. They show exactly the two running women – the scaled up model of characters painted by Picasso.

Authors: Patrycja Wesołowska, Filip Pawłowski, Anna Szefer

References:

http://www.abitare.it/it/architettura/2012/11/01/gae-aulenti-1927-2012/?refresh_ce-cp&fbclid=IwAR2dsfpIUHCiHU-HP-gfUlh-oTFjxBN4cT1XioPObZYm_b1JUiyUDZuqrMc