The Portal of Awareness is an architectural installation in the form of an arched canopy. It was designed by Michel Rojkind of Rojkind Arquitectos, for the 60th Anniversary of Nescafé.
It should be mentioned that the makers of this piece of street art is only one of the eight artists commissioned by Nescafé to build something that would properly mark its anniversary. The present public art piece was erected in Mexico City. Nestlé certainly gave this event a lot of thought, as Mexico City is one of the most populated metropolises in the world.
The eight pieces make up a campaign called Despierta a la Vida, which translates as Awoken to Life. Nescafé’s copywriter is also worth some appreciation for choosing such a title, as there is a direct connection between it and coffee.
Awoken to Life had one major prerequisite. All of the eight works of street art had to made from less than 1,500 mugs. You’ve probably guessed by now (if not, check the title of this post again) that Michel Rojkind used almost all of the given cups to create the Portal of Awareness.
The team probably thought that making this canopy in a single color would be a bit dull, so they opted for various shades from the entire red spectrum. In direct sunlight, I’m pretty sure that this is quite a view.
The skeleton of this structure is made from reinforcement steel rods that are meant to withstand quite a lot of pressure and weight. Both pedestrians and cyclists can pass through the mesh tunnel. More so, the ones who are in Mexico City in this period should definitely see this piece of art, as it most certainly would not have a permanent character. Bad weather, as well as time itself, could have an impact on the coffee mugs.
Probably because of its temporary character, Nescafé decided to only make the portal installed in Paseo de la Reforma available to the public only until December 3, 2012. For yet almost a fortnight, people will be able to see how the sun goes through the spaces left between the mugs to create various interesting shadows, throughout the day.
Nescafé’s campaign had a lot of originality to it, and I certainly would not mind to see this in the campaigns of other companies, regardless of the field they work in.
If you liked this post, please check the coffee faucet and the Star Trek coffee table.
