Enter the soil
finalist
finalist
Ever since he inhabits this planet, man has had a symbiotic relationship with the soil, from which he gathers his nourishment, the materials for his architecture, and then reunites with it at the moment of death. It is precisely this close bond between human life and the soil that has always characterised human societies, each of which has provided a personal interpretation of it, according to its own culture, religion and figurative language.
Church of St George
Lalibela, Ethiopia, c. 12–13th century AD
One example is the ancient well of Santa Cristina in Paulilatino, a ritual descent into the ground leading to a circular hypogean pool, zenithally lit according to precise astronomical calculations. Even more impressive is the medieval church of Saint George in Lalibela, Ethiopia, entirely carved into the rock, which does not emerge from the landscape, appearing only as a slit, almost a burial: the ground becomes a literal building material in a singular encounter between paganism and Christianity.
Today, however, this relationship seems to have been forgotten, due to a materialistic culture, a technological progress that replaces the rhythms and rituals of nature, and the uncontrollable demographic increase that drives us to build vertically, to flee from the soil, and then try to reintroduce it into our skyscrapers in a domesticated, artificial form, which has the traits of a nostalgic longing rather than a real solution.
Andrei Tarkovsky, Stalker, Mosfil’m, USSR 1979
Andrei Tarkovsky’s cinematography expresses the bond between man and nature with great strength and empathy. The latter sometimes becomes a metaphor for the distant homeland, sometimes a representative of a poorer but happier rural society, and sometimes a companion and support for the protagonist who almost seems to rely on it. Like Tarkovsky, we too would like the visitor – just for a moment – to forget the speed, the violence of urban civilisation, to recover the lost connection with the Earth, the soil, and its inhabitants: the plants. An egalitarian relationship, a sense of belonging, a face–to–face as in a confessional, which we have tried to suggest with a change of perspective, both conceptual and practical.
The choice of plants for the layout of the garden has turned to the typical flora of the island, freely selecting species both belonging to ecosystems widespread throughout the Mediterranean and endemic to Sicily. The composition of the plants within the garden will be free, both in arrangement and height, with the aim of creating a collage – idealised and necessarily synthetic – of the entire Sicilian landscape, with a spontaneous, uncontrolled character, making explicit reference to designs such as Piet Oudolf’s High Line and Gilles Clément’s gardens of the third landscape.
These include species of the most varied appearance, habit and height (with the sole exclusion of tall trees) taken from the poetic imagery of the Mediterranean maquis, including broom, tree heath, prickly pear and euphorbia. In addition to offering the spectator the experience of immersing himself in the colours and scents of the place where he is – and not in an abstract garden – the locality of the selected plants also guarantees easy maintenance for the duration of the event, during which they will be free to develop and interact with each other, creating a miniature Sicilian ecosystem.
Physical model of the garden
Media: 3D printed PLA, cardboard, acetate sheet, expanded metal
The visitor will thus immerse himself in the Sicilian landscape, as if taking part in an archaic ritual. After a short descent, he will find himself, without almost realising it, face to face with the plants in the garden. No longer mere decorative elements to be admired from above, but living organisms, endowed like us humans with wills and desires, part of a larger and more ancient system than individuals, equal members with whom it is possible – and necessary – to establish a dialogue for the future. The route of the visit is built like a ditch in the ground and bounded on the sides by two large terraces that raise the level of the natural ground, while at the same time avoiding the need to dig the path too deep and creating seats on the outer sides.
22.28
Garden for Radicepura Garden Festival 2023
Two-stage open competition
Location: via Fogazzaro, Giarre (Catania), Italy
Year: 2022—2023
Site area: 75 m²
Construction cost: 7800 €
Status: finalist, unbuilt
Client: Fondazione Radicepura, Piante Faro
Design: Lin Jin, Valerio Poltrini
Visualisation, text: Valerio Poltrini
Physical model: Valerio Poltrini, Renato Righi