Délaissé

Project

268040

Status

Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

Délaissé

Full concept/idea title

Description

Délaissé is a project that is structured in stages, establishing the return of natural processes, providing free spaces inaccessible to man, whose goal is indecision for appropriation over time. An ‘extreme’ way, a necessary choice, which trusts in time and in the ability of nature to multiply, proliferate and regenerate. The area of investigation are the residual spaces in the mining sector, specifically a disused quarry area adjacent to the historic Bridges of Vara - Carrara Italy.

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

Located in the Carraresi Apuan Alps the investigation area is a disused quarry used as a Ravaneto (term used in Carrara to indicate an accumulation place of marble wastes). This work is built as a tool for generating ideas, explorer of possibilities and producer of knowledge within the sphere of extractive activities. It wants to focus the spotlight on ‘new’ issues of recent decades for heavily exploited areas that have never recei­ved particular attention other than those of international economic interests related to the extraction and use of marble. The design proposal is based on Three foundaments: - The Environmental requalification structu­red by pursuing the goal of securing environment through water regulation and the re-shaping of the lands stored in the area in order to introduce environmental circularity. - Enhancing the landscape heritage concerns the historical-cultural value of the Vara Bridges, with the aim of highlighting its attractive potential in terms of beauty and economy, thanks to the presence of the same, large-scale historical monu­ments. - A natural consequence, which relies on the two situations mentio­ned, deals with the project of spontaneous re-naturaliza­tion of the landscape. This consequence aims to highlight all those aspects linked to local biodiversity, attempting to analyze the types of species that are likely to grow and multiply in the quarry residual spaces of Carrara. The approach that is introduced in this last experimental phase follows the structuring characteristics of the Third Landscape dictated by Gilles Clément which lead to a very clear image of the Tiers Paysage, which must therefore be: untouched by man and without limits set. It is the conception of a scenario that does not establish the formal outcome and that does not work on the human timeline that is ‘here and now’ (G. Incerti 2014), but operates, on the contrary, with the slow time of natural evolution.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

For this idea we are talking about environmental sustainability, and when we consider it, we should assume that means designing with the idea of a development model capable of satisfying the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy theirs. In this sense, the idea of Délaissé tries as a first step, to work on the environmental circularity considering Waters and Soils as the main actors of this structuring action. The goal is to reach Environmental safety that can in consequence guarantee Human safety. This action mainly deals with the issues of hydraulic risk present in Carrara due to one main factor, The Marmettola. A marble dust with silt granulometry produced during cutting with diamond wire (C. Baroni and G. Bruschi 2001), is considered one of the main causes of the recent floods of the Carrione River, the principal water course (2003, 2010, 2012, 2014). It settles and accumulates in the riverbeds, waterproofing them, deleting any type of life in the waters, and favoring their flooding during maximum precipitation peaks. The sustainability goal is reached through, as a first step, the restoration of the watercourse that imply the movement of the lands stored there to create a safe riverbed with an additional floodable space which will allow to have a relief valve upstream as a water storage before it will reach the city of Carrara. The second step is to convert a disused quarry area, which is shaped like a hole, into a containment water basin able to work through the introduction of the by-pass element before this area mentioned. This huge water tank will have the role to secure the entire valley from moments with peaks of precipitation. Finally, through the Third Landscape Concept, the natural circularity of the area will be pursued and will guarantee its sustainability. 

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

Carrara and its mountains are one of the most worked and modified landscapes in the world. This town has always been a pilgrimage destination for passionate, here the landscape heritage resides in the quarries themselves which are a huge open-air museum that has existed since romans times (155 BC). The proposed experimentation already brings in its context a beauty of immeasurable value, specifically, the quality of the experience in this area is treated on two levels. The first deals with the Vara bridges junction, an action that aims to highlight the historical and cultural value of the Bridges themselves. Here there are no defined spaces so the first element intro­duced is the concept of pedestrian conti­nuity to allow the cyclicality to be pursued, which will keep this landscape open-air museum active every day of the week. The structure that will be established will have a great connection with the place and with the surrounding land­scape, in fact, it is foreseen the insertion of terraces at dif­ferent heights immersed in the landscape that will allow a panoramic view on the regenerated site and will also allow to strengthen the relationship between man and nature.The second level deals with the last mentioned: the nature. The project idea wants to allow nature to develop and proliferate in an independent and natural way, depriving human accessi­bility for the first 15-20 years. During the first years, to ensure that the vegetation pro­liferate in an active and undisturbed way, the link with the site and nature will take place through the terraces, distri­buted at different levels to reach the na­ture without ever being able to really touch it. This will allow first of all to create a space of respect and contemplation of the landscape and then give the possibility in the future to be able to reach it and enjoy it with the awareness of the value that it brings with it.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

This project focuses heavily on the communication of two opposing presences with very different points of view and priorities, in a context where the coexistence of different processes which have very contrasting formal objectives, often do not meet to find a shared compromise. The two contrasting parts are historically present in Carrara but today, in a context of climate change, are increasingly in conflict. We are talking about on one side the family of all the entrepreneurs connected to the marble business, who see in the marble their source of livelihood and those of other thousands to which they give work. On the other hand, we have the family of environmentalists who year after year is increasingly disappointed due to the continuous increase of marble excavation in the basin of the Apuan Alps, which involves various environmental consequences such as the loss of biodiversity, loss of life and hydrogeological hazard. In this sense the goal in term of inclusion for this project deals with the relationship of these two communities trying to direct the energies and forces of both towards a common direction considering the way of a compromise as a method of improvement able to ensure a better living together for all. This kind of inclusion will be pursued by creating workshops able to sensibilize all the citizens (also entrepreneurs and environmentalist) about the current situation in Carrara trying to show objectively which are the constraints and which are the possibilities. In terms of affordability this project really shows the possibility to be able to be pursued with a relatively low budget considering all the cost cuts related to environmental redevelopment operations, which in this case will be limited and followed by a spontaneous renaturalization.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

The project idea deals with the regeneration of a site heavily exploited and worked by man since Roman times, this implies the impossibility of the site being able to reach the condition of naturalness again. After reading the 'Manifesto of the Third Landscape' by Gilles Clement and the observation and study of other examples of the Third Landscape such as L'île Derborence at the Henri-Matisse park in Lille or the Tiers Paysage Garden in Saint-Nazaire, was born the idea for this project proposal which is based on the experimentation of a new type of intervention not yet tested. The innovative character of this idea lies in the proposal of a new type of experimentation for the reconversion of disused industrial areas or disused quarry areas, in proximity to urban context, without going through an expensive overdesigned landscape conversion but which is essentially based on guiding initially through small targeted interventions necessary and immediate, and continue with the spontaneous and natural reconversion that completely relies to nature. Innovation also consists in the choice of the place for this type of project choice because the concept of the third landscape has been theorized in urban waste areas, while the area proposed for the experimentation of this concept is in a disused excavation area upstream of the city of Carrara and surrounded by the regional park of the Apuan Alps. On a theoretical level this type of area has all the characteristics to be able to demonstrate a spontaneous redevelopment, the only step missing is the experimentation itself. On a practical level, who better than nature could prove what is best for itself? In a future perspective, this type of intervention could be replicated in a thousand different sites with similar starting characteristics, allows you to save time and money and have even more performing effects.

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

The main goal for the developement of this idea is to create awarness in the community of Carrara through the social medias and through a series of workshops able to sensibilize the entrepreneurs, environmentalist and all the citizens of Carrara about the situation. The first step in this awareness campaign is to shows the objective reality to everyone.  The series of workshop will starts with the introduction of the project proposal and a clarification about the Tiers Paysage concept to the community. Interesting in this part could be to show the workshops also with the social medias in order to share the ideas also with other people that are interested in the topic, here a possible consequence of sharing ideas on social networks could create debates at a European and international level as well, considering that the entire work was studied in English. A conclusion for the workshops could be setting a tab with positives and negatives aspects for the different current activities, to better clarify which ones are the priorities to start the project process. (Series of workshops + social media promotion, 5-6 months) After the awarness process try to set up a work table guided by 4 figures able to mix different points of view: entrepreneur – environmentalists – municipality and citizens. Those will be able to represent and act in the interests of Carrara city, its Landscape and its Citizens. The consequent step will be collecting consensus about the project idea and set discussions with the organization of Carrara to guide the interventions in only one common direction. (indicatively 6 months) Finally, at the end of the year, start with the implementation of the project following the 3 foundations proposed: 1 Environmental safety, lands and water course, human safety 2 Enhancing Vara bridges 3 Field experimentation with ecologist – geologists about detailed lists of existing plants in the area.

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.