OF WORLDS AND CULTURES
The Degree Course in Design of the Gabriele D'Annunzio University - Department of Architecture of Pescara, participates in the Fuori Salone of the Milan Design week, Precisely in the Lambrate design district, in via Massimiano 6 and Via Sbodio 9, with a review of projects developed by students, in the three chains of Product design, Interior design, Communication design.
“OF WORLDS AND CULTURES, a project for setting up a space capable of representing the processes of globalization underway. DI-STANZE - the meeting space / eight cubes to change the world ”, this is the theme from which we Interior Design students started to develop the project. Set up eight cubes that had a size of 4.20 meters per side as the only constraint. It might have seemed simple, but the indecisions, the changes of course, the difficulties have proved the opposite.
What do we start from?
The first question arose spontaneously when we had to think not so much about the walkable surface, but about the heights, which aroused many concerns.
A first idea was directed on a temporary installation, consisting of two distant and equal structures connected to each other by a pedestrian bridge suspended from the ground.
We thought of making man aware of the problem of pollution and waste disposal, letting him go through the installation; an accelerated lesson told with guidelines, to illustrate how to recycle correctly and explain through the steps the reuse of the materials used daily. The theme of recycling is very important, but the idea itself was complicated to convey and the setting could seem forced into a temporary structure.
We started thinking about something more practical and useful, also motivated by an interest in some key words: passage, union, movement.
The consequence was natural: a bridge.
A pedestrian bridge, which was born from the combination of these 8 cubes.
But how to assemble it?
The bridge was long enough and steel seemed the best solution. We carried out a study on the behavior of the material under stress, a study on the lengths of the pieces, juxtaposition and assembly. Inspired by Pescara and its river that cuts the city in two, we decided to install this bridge over a watercourse, for a quick connection between the two banks. The keywords have increased: connection, friendliness, practicality.
How can we change the world with this big, heavy bridge?
We thought: "The basic concept is there but it's not strong enough and we don't feel it yet."
It is difficult to think of changing the world. A little less difficult is trying to make a gesture that can make people's lives better, even if only for a moment. From this it became clear in our minds the idea of developing research aimed at intercepting and studying the work of some of the most important humanitarian associations operating on our planet. The study by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) led us to meet the Rohingya, an Islamic minority present in the state of Rakhine. They are not recognized as citizens, but as one of the 135 ethnic groups in the state and are considered illegal immigrants, so they are denied all rights. They get support, in fact, from some humanitarian associations, which offer shelters and drinking water facilities.
A floating bridge?
The cube, a key theme and element of the project, is adapted to allow for moving around and reach the columns of water during the monsoon rains, which in normal conditions hinder the passage between the various fields. At this point the structure we were thinking of has found its final form. A modular and floating bridge, built with the use of cheap and recyclable materials and well anchored to the ground, which also allows rescue vehicles to travel, going beyond its practical function to become a symbol of concrete help and union.
In this regard, the words of Erri De Luca seem to be indicated:
“The only cordial building work is the bridge which, instead of dividing, seeks to unite, by connecting it overcomes rivalries; a word that comes, in fact, from being on two opposite shores ".
- DANIELE AMODIO -
DinDesign
Lambrate Design District
Via Massimiano 6 - Via Sbodio 9
