From the ceiling of the DHub lobby hangs “Espill: un satèl·lit per al solstici”[Espill: A Satellite for the Solstice], a life-size reproduction of a satellite weighing 180 kilogrammes and measuring 5 metres in diameter. It is a sphere partially covered with mirrors to provide humanity with a permanent and sustainable Star of Bethlehem , visible at night from various points on the planet. The speculative intervention by the TAKK architecture studio, curated by the DHub’s artistic director José Luis de Vicente, aims to be a critical reflection on light pollution resulting from the explosion of ornamental Christmas lighting or the increasing presence in the sky of bright spots corresponding to objects of human origin. In addition to the artefact — which is magical, metaphorical, and highly technological — the project also includes the narrative of how the satellite would be sent into space, how it would be seen from the Earth’s surface, or how it would orbit around it.  Espill is a technically feasible proposal that seeks to ask a question: who has the right to place a light in the sky?

Mireia Luzárraga and Alejandro Muiño are the founders of TAKK, an architecture and design studio based in Barcelona. Their projects explore how architecture can catalyse the development of more democratic lives by incorporating feminist thought, ecology, and politics into spatial practices. Both are currently faculty members at the GSAPP of Columbia University in New York, as well as at the University of Tokyo, the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), and La Salle. They have previously served as lecturers and speakers at institutions such as the University of Alicante, ETSAM, the European Institute of Design (IED), ELISAVA, RMIT, the Floating University Berlin, and ILEK at the University of Stuttgart.