MUPIs (Urban Furniture for Information) are architectural devices designed to make advertising campaigns visible in public spaces. This one proposes to divert its primary use to accommodate a prefabricated makeshift shelter, a “home-made house,” which includes basic comfort, a window to the world, and a 4K TV on sale until the end of the month.
The window is arranged to allow its occupant to browse real estate listings from the adjacent auction house, while the TV serves to entertain them as they wait for the (legal) notice of their dreams, just around the corner. As electricity is unavailable tonight, the glow of a candle is required to bathe in this dreamlike cocoon.
This planimeter has the luxury of architecture inspired by the Art Nouveau movement. A nod to one of its pioneers, architect Victor Horta, who, unable to contemplate the Aubecq Hotel he built nearby on this very avenue (demolished in 1950), could have instead observed the remains of his architectural legacy and the new advertising campaigns staged by … JDeCaunn*.
(*A French playful pun with an amusing accent)
