Šapito is a temporary installation created as a shared dining space for the At the Table festival as part of the Transformed City project. Beer tables and benches, reimagined with a new design and arranged across the square by ODA, are unified by a canopy of string lights that symbolically brings the festival programme together under one roof.
The installation consists of 40 modified tables and 80 benches, accommodating approximately 250 people. While beer table sets are typically simple and functional seating, combined with the lighting installation they create the illusion of architecture on an impressive scale. The project also has a strong community dimension: after the festival, parts of the installation will be available for loan to local communities, where they will continue to circulate and be reused at future public events.
The traditional beer table typology is transformed through colour and material intervention. Alternating stained wooden slats create a bold striped pattern inspired by colourful park benches. The blue tones reference Trenčín 2026 – European Capital of Culture. Solid larch wood introduces natural texture, warmth, and tactile quality into temporary event infrastructure. Its durable surface treatment supports long-term outdoor use while preserving the authentic character of the material.
The installation is organised around a single spatial gesture: the circle. A continuous chain of tables crosses and inhabits different parts of the square, connecting lawns, the regular grid of trees, the gravel piazzetta, and paved circulation areas. Rather than creating an isolated island, it responds to the existing spatial structure and weaves its fragments into one shared whole. Like a necklace, it connects not only the space itself but also everything happening within it.
The arrangement can function either as a complete circle or as a looser radial composition. Gaps between individual segments preserve permeability through the square, allow seating density to be adjusted, and naturally accommodate trees, existing poles, and pedestrian movement. The system is intentionally flexible and can be reconfigured according to different needs.
The horizontal line of the tables is complemented by a vertical lighting structure. From the centre of the space, strings of lights radiate outward, forming an abstract outline of a circus tent above the tree canopy. This element is more than a visual feature. After dark, it defines a shared open-air interior, unifies the dispersed seating areas, and provides a clear point of orientation within the square. In this way, the tables are transformed from ordinary street furniture into architecture, and from functional objects into carriers of the festival’s identity.
The installation enriches the public space through a powerful spatial gesture. It is simultaneously a product, a piece of urban furniture, and a light installation. Its architecture is not created by adding an enclosed structure, but by organising relationships between people, the existing landscape of the square, and the shared activities taking place there.
Come experience the At the Table festival and discover a place where architecture emerges through shared meals, conversations, and the simple curiosity of being together.
Šapito for Degustories, Trenčín 2026
Authors: Matúš Peklanský, Márk Mátis
