The science behind this illusion follows the same principles of counterweight used by the levitating men – Alex says “through a kind of osmosis they got into my head” during the four days he spent in the piazza brewing his idea. In the green market stall to the side of the building there’s a 16-tonne steel beam which is attached to a steel platform and a 12-metre cantilever. The building itself is made from polystyrene glued to twin wool, which is usually employed in conservatory roofing. This polystyrene was digitally carved and then painted and distressed by a team of scenic artists.
Half the fun of the installation is in watching people’s reactions. One lady asked me if it was real, a bemused tourist went around the base rapping the pillars, commuters did double takes and then whipped out their smartphones, whilst a troop of school kids were the least confused of all. They just took the floating house in their crocodile-pair stride.
Alex says he doesn’t watch people’s reactions though. “It’s not a hobby, for the same reason that I don’t like reading the comments at the bottom of a blog. I’m not part of the work; I create them and then abandon them and I kind of like that.”