Mario Cucinella Architects

In 1972 the event Pollution “per un’estetica dell’inquinamento” (for an aesthetic of pollution) transformed Piazza Santo Stefano into a theatre of critical reflection on the contradictions hidden behind the environmental “fraud”. Almost fifty years later, the Iris Ceramica Group asked Mario Cucinella and the SOS School of Sustainability to make this square the catalyst for discussion on the future of the environment, with an installation that amplifies the perception of the space and invites the city and its visitors to question the relationship between humanity and nature.
Pollution 2018 talks of the future, promoting a collective experience that allows us to re-imagine urban spaces as eco-systems with which man becomes one. Today we have the instruments to give a proper answer to the environmental challenges of our times and to transform the protest of 1972 into concrete action to regenerate urban spaces and promote models of production that create a virtuous relationship between humanity and the environment.

The project

The 2018 installation follows the path that started in 1972, taking shape in the same place that once hosted it. The space in piazza Santo Stefano has been redesigned both in functional and aesthetic terms and promotes a brand-new spatial experience. The geometric construction guides the movement of visitors, transforming the diverse buildings into a formal unity and directing the gaze beyond the centrality of the square into the narrow lanes of the city and towards the monumental complex of the “Sette Chiese” (Seven Churches).
The square is seen as a social device and a place for people to meet. Its flows, axes of crossing and stopping points have been observed, understanding the tendency of users not to stop in the square, but to cross it or to observe its beauty from the sides, where there are mostly tourists or citizens walking around, also due to the sun that makes a large part of the square unusable in warmer weather.

Location: Piazza Santo Stefano
Type: Installation
Client: Iris Ceramica Group
Project: SOS – School of Sustainability with Mario Cucinella Architects
Team: Mario Cucinella, Andrea Rossi, Valentina Torrente (MCA) Massimo Imparato, Alessio Dionigi Battistella, Claudia Bonora, Vincenzo Bossa, Claudia Calabretta, Giulia Corriere, Carlo Maria D’Amico, Elena Di Sciascio, Chris Dixon, Michela Galassi, Claudia Galimberti, Laura La Mendola, Maria Pazzaglia, Sonia Porpiglia, Orazio Vigliotti, Valerio Vincioni (SOS)
Photo credit: Francesco Gumier
Visual: Giovanni Checchia

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In 1972 the event Pollution “per un’estetica dell’inquinamento” (for an aesthetic of pollution) transformed Piazza Santo Stefano into a theatre of critical reflection on the contradictions hidden behind the environmental “fraud”. Almost fifty years later, the Iris Ceramica Group asked Mario Cucinella and the SOS School of Sustainability to make this square the catalyst for discussion on the future of the environment, with an installation that amplifies the perception of the space and invites the city and its visitors to question the relationship between humanity and nature.
Pollution 2018 talks of the future, promoting a collective experience that allows us to re-imagine urban spaces as eco-systems with which man becomes one. Today we have the instruments to give a proper answer to the environmental challenges of our times and to transform the protest of 1972 into concrete action to regenerate urban spaces and promote models of production that create a virtuous relationship between humanity and the environment.

The project

The 2018 installation follows the path that started in 1972, taking shape in the same place that once hosted it. The space in piazza Santo Stefano has been redesigned both in functional and aesthetic terms and promotes a brand-new spatial experience. The geometric construction guides the movement of visitors, transforming the diverse buildings into a formal unity and directing the gaze beyond the centrality of the square into the narrow lanes of the city and towards the monumental complex of the “Sette Chiese” (Seven Churches).
The square is seen as a social device and a place for people to meet. Its flows, axes of crossing and stopping points have been observed, understanding the tendency of users not to stop in the square, but to cross it or to observe its beauty from the sides, where there are mostly tourists or citizens walking around, also due to the sun that makes a large part of the square unusable in warmer weather.

Location: Piazza Santo Stefano
Type: Installation
Client: Iris Ceramica Group
Project: SOS – School of Sustainability with Mario Cucinella Architects
Team: Mario Cucinella, Andrea Rossi, Valentina Torrente (MCA) Massimo Imparato, Alessio Dionigi Battistella, Claudia Bonora, Vincenzo Bossa, Claudia Calabretta, Giulia Corriere, Carlo Maria D’Amico, Elena Di Sciascio, Chris Dixon, Michela Galassi, Claudia Galimberti, Laura La Mendola, Maria Pazzaglia, Sonia Porpiglia, Orazio Vigliotti, Valerio Vincioni (SOS)
Photo credit: Francesco Gumier
Visual: Giovanni Checchia

‍

In 1972 the event Pollution “per un’estetica dell’inquinamento” (for an aesthetic of pollution) transformed Piazza Santo Stefano into a theatre of critical reflection on the contradictions hidden behind the environmental “fraud”. Almost fifty years later, the Iris Ceramica Group asked Mario Cucinella and the SOS School of Sustainability to make this square the catalyst for discussion on the future of the environment, with an installation that amplifies the perception of the space and invites the city and its visitors to question the relationship between humanity and nature.
Pollution 2018 talks of the future, promoting a collective experience that allows us to re-imagine urban spaces as eco-systems with which man becomes one. Today we have the instruments to give a proper answer to the environmental challenges of our times and to transform the protest of 1972 into concrete action to regenerate urban spaces and promote models of production that create a virtuous relationship between humanity and the environment.

The project

The 2018 installation follows the path that started in 1972, taking shape in the same place that once hosted it. The space in piazza Santo Stefano has been redesigned both in functional and aesthetic terms and promotes a brand-new spatial experience. The geometric construction guides the movement of visitors, transforming the diverse buildings into a formal unity and directing the gaze beyond the centrality of the square into the narrow lanes of the city and towards the monumental complex of the “Sette Chiese” (Seven Churches).
The square is seen as a social device and a place for people to meet. Its flows, axes of crossing and stopping points have been observed, understanding the tendency of users not to stop in the square, but to cross it or to observe its beauty from the sides, where there are mostly tourists or citizens walking around, also due to the sun that makes a large part of the square unusable in warmer weather.

Location: Piazza Santo Stefano
Type: Installation
Client: Iris Ceramica Group
Project: SOS – School of Sustainability with Mario Cucinella Architects
Team: Mario Cucinella, Andrea Rossi, Valentina Torrente (MCA) Massimo Imparato, Alessio Dionigi Battistella, Claudia Bonora, Vincenzo Bossa, Claudia Calabretta, Giulia Corriere, Carlo Maria D’Amico, Elena Di Sciascio, Chris Dixon, Michela Galassi, Claudia Galimberti, Laura La Mendola, Maria Pazzaglia, Sonia Porpiglia, Orazio Vigliotti, Valerio Vincioni (SOS)
Photo credit: Francesco Gumier
Visual: Giovanni Checchia

‍

In 1972 the event Pollution “per un’estetica dell’inquinamento” (for an aesthetic of pollution) transformed Piazza Santo Stefano into a theatre of critical reflection on the contradictions hidden behind the environmental “fraud”. Almost fifty years later, the Iris Ceramica Group asked Mario Cucinella and the SOS School of Sustainability to make this square the catalyst for discussion on the future of the environment, with an installation that amplifies the perception of the space and invites the city and its visitors to question the relationship between humanity and nature.
Pollution 2018 talks of the future, promoting a collective experience that allows us to re-imagine urban spaces as eco-systems with which man becomes one. Today we have the instruments to give a proper answer to the environmental challenges of our times and to transform the protest of 1972 into concrete action to regenerate urban spaces and promote models of production that create a virtuous relationship between humanity and the environment.

The project

The 2018 installation follows the path that started in 1972, taking shape in the same place that once hosted it. The space in piazza Santo Stefano has been redesigned both in functional and aesthetic terms and promotes a brand-new spatial experience. The geometric construction guides the movement of visitors, transforming the diverse buildings into a formal unity and directing the gaze beyond the centrality of the square into the narrow lanes of the city and towards the monumental complex of the “Sette Chiese” (Seven Churches).
The square is seen as a social device and a place for people to meet. Its flows, axes of crossing and stopping points have been observed, understanding the tendency of users not to stop in the square, but to cross it or to observe its beauty from the sides, where there are mostly tourists or citizens walking around, also due to the sun that makes a large part of the square unusable in warmer weather.

Location: Piazza Santo Stefano
Type: Installation
Client: Iris Ceramica Group
Project: SOS – School of Sustainability with Mario Cucinella Architects
Team: Mario Cucinella, Andrea Rossi, Valentina Torrente (MCA) Massimo Imparato, Alessio Dionigi Battistella, Claudia Bonora, Vincenzo Bossa, Claudia Calabretta, Giulia Corriere, Carlo Maria D’Amico, Elena Di Sciascio, Chris Dixon, Michela Galassi, Claudia Galimberti, Laura La Mendola, Maria Pazzaglia, Sonia Porpiglia, Orazio Vigliotti, Valerio Vincioni (SOS)
Photo credit: Francesco Gumier
Visual: Giovanni Checchia

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Nel 1972 l’evento Pollution “per un’estetica dell’inquinamento” aveva fatto di Piazza Santo Stefano il teatro di una riflessione critica sulle contraddizioni che si celavano dietro l’”imbroglio” ecologico. Dopo quasi cinquant’anni Iris Ceramica Group ha chiesto a Mario Cucinella e SOS School of Sustainability di rendere la Piazza il catalizzatore della discussione sul futuro dell’ambiente con una installazione che amplifica la percezione dello spazio e invita la città e i suoi visitatori a interrogarsi sul rapporto tra uomo e natura.
Pollution 2018 parla di futuro promuovendo un’esperienza collettiva che ci porta a re-immaginare gli spazi urbani come ecosistemi con cui l’uomo entra in sinergia. Oggi abbiamo gli strumenti per dare risposte adeguate alle sfide ambientali del nostro tempo, e di per trasformare la denuncia del 1972 in azioni concrete per la rigenerazione degli spazi urbani e la promozione di modelli produttivi capaci di instaurare un rapporto virtuoso tra l’uomo e l’ambiente.

Il progetto

L’installazione del 2018 ripercorre la strada iniziata nel 1972 prendendo forma nello stesso luogo che l’ha ospitata allora. Lo spazio di piazza Santo Stefano è ripensato sia in termini funzionali sia estetici e promuove un’esperienza spaziale inedita. La costruzione geometrica guida il movimento dei visitatori trasformando l’eterogeneità degli edifici in unità formale e spingendone lo sguardo oltre la centralità della piazza, negli stretti vicoli della città e verso il complesso monumentale delle “Sette Chiese”.
La piazza è vista come dispositivo sociale e luogo d’incontro tra persone; ne sono stati osservati i flussi, gli assi di attraversamento e i punti di stazionamento, comprendendo la propensione degli utenti a non sostare nella piazza, ma piuttosto ad attraversarla o a osservarne la bellezza dai suoi bordi, dove troviamo perlopiù turisti e cittadini a passeggio, anche a causa del soleggiamento che rende una parte consistente della piazza poco fruibile nelle stagioni temperate e calde.

Luogo: Piazza Santo Stefano
Tipologia: Installazione
Cliente: Iris Ceramica Group
Progetto: SOS – School of Sustainability e Mario Cucinella Architects
Team di progetto: Mario Cucinella, Andrea Rossi, Valentina Torrente (MCA) Massimo Imparato, Alessio Dionigi Battistella, Claudia Bonora, Vincenzo Bossa, Claudia Calabretta, Giulia Corriere, Carlo Maria D’Amico, Elena Di Sciascio, Chris Dixon, Michela Galassi, Claudia Galimberti, Laura La Mendola, Maria Pazzaglia, Sonia Porpiglia, Orazio Vigliotti, Valerio Vincioni (SOS)
Photo credit: Francesco Gumier
Visual: Giovanni Checchia

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