A quaint street, which links two main squares in the Maltese town of Zabbar is currently adorned with an installation of colourful hanging umbrellas. These umbrellas provide life and shade from the basking sun which already hit the Maltese islands.
This installation reminded people of another famous installation which happens every summer in the streets of Águeda.
The Umbrella Sky Project began in 2011. Each year, during the hot summer months of July, August, and September, a handful of the city’s narrow streets gain colorful umbrella canopies that provide shade for the pedestrians passing through. Rooftop cables are strung with numerous parasols that help cool the roadways in a creative and cost-effective way, and the sea of umbrellas forms a unique geometric pattern overhead as well as changing shadows on the roadway below.
Programming like outdoor workout classes give this shaded area an added layer of functionality, enabling high-energy and fitness activities despite high summer temperatures.
Since the project began, these pop-up shade structures have become an annual summertime installation and they have developed a cult following around the world.
The polka-dot shadows and the colourful skyline that shine down onto the street below add more color to people’s lives in everyday settings, whether in Portugal or Zabbar, Malta.
