{"id":955034,"date":"2026-11-06T18:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T18:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/955034\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T18:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T18:46:15","slug":"carsten-hollers-four-slides-bring-people-together-in-mexico-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/955034\/","title":{"rendered":"carsten h\u00f6ller\u2019s four slides bring people together in mexico city"},"content":{"rendered":"

CARSTEN H\u00d6LLER MAKES PLAY PART OF MEXICO CITY\u2019S ARCHITECTURE<\/p>\n

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Carsten H\u00f6ller<\/a> transforms movement through architecture into a collective experience with Mexico City Slides (2026), a permanent installation<\/a> of four monumental spiral slides at Arte Abierto Polanco in Mexico City. Commissioned by Arte Abierto and developer SOMA in collaboration with architecture practice Sordo Madaleno<\/a>, the work forms part of Antara\u2019s latest expansion in Colonia Granada. H\u00f6ller\u2019s sculpture weaves through the mixed-use development, connecting restaurants, Google\u2019s offices, the future Rosewood Mexico City hotel, and Arte Abierto\u2019s new cultural venue through an unexpected invitation to slide.<\/p>\n

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Ranging from 12 to 38 meters in height and 31 to 90 meters in length, the four structures descend from different points across the complex before converging at a shared landing area. Each slide accommodates one person, allowing four visitors to descend simultaneously and arrive alongside one another. The installation is accessible to the public free of charge and is scheduled to open in December 2026.<\/p>\n

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Visitors arriving from restaurants, workplaces, and hospitality spaces enter the same physical experience, temporarily setting aside the social and functional distinctions attached to these environments. H\u00f6ller describes this encounter as an equalizing gesture. Regardless of where people begin, they end up next to one another. Even for those who choose not to ride, the slides introduce an unusual spectacle into the development.<\/p>\n

\"wideall images by Pierre Bj\u00f6rk<\/a><\/p>\n

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FROM PLAYFUL OBJECT TO ARCHITECTURAL EXPERIENCE<\/p>\n

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H\u00f6ller has been working with slides as an artistic medium since 1998, exploring how an object usually associated with playgrounds can become part of an architectural setting. The Belgian artist<\/a> describes them as \u2018a sculpture with people inside\u2019. The experience is as much about the physical sensations of sliding as it is about the structure itself.<\/p>\n

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Over the years, this idea has taken different forms. His projects include Test Site (2006) at Tate Modern in London, Victoria Slide (2011) at the New Museum in New York, Vitra Slide Tower (2014) at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, and Isometric Slides (2015) at the Hayward Gallery in London. He continued the series with Florence Experiment Slides (2018) at Palazzo Strozzi, DAC Slide (2020) at the Danish Architecture Centre, and another iteration of Isometric Slides (2021) at the Luma Foundation in Arles. More recently, Stockholm Slides (2025) became a permanent feature of Moderna Museet\u2019s facade. In Mexico City, four slides bring this ongoing exploration into a larger architectural setting, connecting different parts of Antara through this shared experience.<\/p>\n

\"the four slides weave between different levels of the complex<\/p>\n

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THE anatomy OF A CONTROLLED FALL<\/p>\n

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For H\u00f6ller, sliding is about more than the thrill of speed. The moment of descent brings together fear, excitement, and pleasure, as riders briefly give themselves over to gravity. He describes the sensation as a \u2018voluptuous panic upon an otherwise lucid mind\u2019, borrowing the phrase from sociologist Roger Caillois. There is a certain contradiction in the experience: the slide is a controlled structure, yet the feeling of losing control is what makes the ride exciting.<\/p>\n

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In Mexico City Slides, four people can set off from different parts of Antara and arrive at the same landing area, turning the ride into a shared experience. For a brief moment, people coming from a restaurant, an office, or a hotel find themselves side by side, brought together by something as simple as taking a slide.<\/p>\n

\"overheadthe slides cross above the pedestrian spaces and gardens of Antara<\/p>\n

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ART AND PUBLIC SPACE WITHIN ANTARA\u2019S EXPANSION<\/p>\n

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The installation forms part of a wider transformation of Antara, which marks its twentieth anniversary in 2026. Originally developed by SOMA on a former industrial site in Colonia Granada, the destination opened in 2006 as Mexico City\u2019s first open-air retail complex. Its latest expansion introduces additional retail and dining spaces, offices, a new public garden, and a cultural program led by Arte Abierto, SOMA\u2019s nonprofit contemporary art foundation established in 2019.<\/p>\n

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Designed by Sordo Madaleno, the expanded development brings together landscaped pathways, stepped terraces, and a 2,500-square-meter public garden, connecting its different functions through new pedestrian spaces. The wider program also includes Now What (2026), an exhibition by Danish artist collective SUPERFLEX, which examines the relationship between human-made environments and natural forces.<\/p>\n

\"low-anglethe curved stainless steel tubes create overlapping spirals when viewed from below\"the reflective slide structures rise against the surrounding architecture\"close-upthe stainless steel spiral slides wind around a central support structure at Arte Abierto Polanco\"multipleupward view of Carsten H\u00f6ller\u2019s interconnected stainless steel slides against the dark night sky\"upwardmultiple slide tubes overlap as they descend\"full-heightthe vertical structure of Mexico City Slides rises among trees and surrounding buildings<\/p>\n

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project info:<\/p>\n

name: Mexico City Slides
artist: Carsten H\u00f6ller\u00a0| @carsten.holler<\/a><\/p>\n

location: Arte Abierto Polanco, Antara, Mexico City, Mexico<\/p>\n

commissioned by: Arte Abierto<\/a> | @arte_abierto<\/a> and SOMA<\/a>
architectural collaboration: Sordo Madaleno<\/a><\/p>\n