of Labour’s Utopia
- This thesis is part of a research project by Paola Viganò Università I.U.A.V. di Venezia Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Architettura e Culture del Progetto a.a. 2016-17 Master Thesis Project Title: Journey in the Valley of Labour’s Utopia Tutor: prof.ssa Paola Viganò Students: Andrea Cusanno 284071 - Marco Andreatta 284219 All quotations have been reported in the original language
Andrea Cusanno Marco Andreatta
Journey in the Valley of Labour’s Utopia Master Thesis in Architettura e Culture del Progetto Tutor: prof.ssa Paola Viganò
part
I Atlas of Lombardia’s Valleys
parte
II The Olona Valley
parte
III Journey in the Valley of Labour’s Utopia
7
Atlas of Lombardia’s Valleys “La Megalopoli non è solo un sistema che l’uomo abita, ma è anche una macchina che produce. La produzione è una condizione necessaria per consentire agli uomini di abitare e alla megalopoli che li ospita per alimentare la propria esistenza.” Eugenio Turri la Megalopoli Padana
Industrial production in Veneto e Lombardia: The Industrial Districts The Italian Industrial production finds in Veneto and Lombardia the two regions that present the highest amount of enterprises and the highest percentage of employees within the manufacturing sector. In these two regions, industrial production in the last decades has taken shape through the “Industrial District”: an agglomeration of enterprises, generally of medium to small dimensions, located within a finite territorial framework, specialized in one or more production stages. E. Turri in his book “La Megalopoli Padana” describes these territories as: “E infatti quasi nello stesso tempo cominciarono a muoversi, come per induzione, certe aree della Padania, anche estranee ad ogni ingerenza urbana ma che potevano porsi al servizio della crescita: anzitutto là dove l’artigianato riusciva a riorganizzarsi in piccola industria manifatturiera. A queste motivazioni risale la formazione dei distretti industriali specializzati.” ¹ Industrial Districts are the result of a process connected to the birth of the small to medium enterprise in the period after the second World War, and to the consequent proliferation and spread of the city in the Pianura Padana, which in the last decades has taken the form of a big Megalopolis. Hence, it can be said that Industrial Districts
11
are the big productive machines of the diffused city. It can be said that Industrial Districts are the most recent territorial manifestation of industrial production in Italy, particularly in Veneto and Lombardia. However, the industriousness of these territories has far more distant roots, linked to the great industrial revolution that in Italy started in the second half of the 19th century. This story ties indissolubly people and places through the Architecture that has hosted production spaces. Eugenio Turri cites many times the originary axes of industrialization of the Megalopolis: “Il settore industriale è il nerbo forte della megalopoli. La tradizione industriale, soprattutto in certe aree, è sentita, fa parte da più di un secolo del vivere e del produrre; in altre aree è nuova o solo da pochi decenni ha cominciato a radicarsi nel territorio. […] Originariamente le aree forti dell’industria erano le valli del Bresciano e del Bergamasco, oltre alle fasce dei fiumi che scendono nel Milanese, come il Seveso, l’Olona e il Lambro, più l’Adda; in Piemonte il Biellese, il Novarese, le valli appenniniche lungo le direttrici che portano in Liguria; nel Veneto le Valli Vicentine.” ²
12
13
14
Atlas Objectives This Atlas focuses on selected territories in the Lombardia region. It aims to describe the present condition of industrial production, in relation to the geomorphology of the territory, the residential tissue and infrastructures. In parallel to the restitution of these spatial relatioships, the goal of this Atlas is to reconstruct the patrimony of abandoned industrial buildings that these territories present; this happens through the overlap of the historical productive sites and abandoned infrastructures, with the current productive tissue. In this way, it will be possible to show how this patrimony has been absorbed within the current production tissue. This Atlas has been constructed from a series of site visits that have taken place between May and December 2017, through car and bicycle trips along the rivers, researching for abandoned industrial buildings. During the site visits we’ve had the chance to meet people, make interviews, pictures, walks. The restitution of these site visits happens through two maps for each territory; the first one shows the geomorphology of the territory, together with the dismissed patrimony. The second map shows the places of historical production, overlapped to infrastructures and current residential and productive tissues.
15
16
17
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Territories Selection The method applied for the construction of this Atlas can be extended to the Veneto region as well, but here the focus will be put on “linear� productive systems within the Lombardia region: those territorial systems where the industrialization process started in the second half of the 19th century. These productive systems, differently from current industrial districts, presented a linear character, associated to the presence of a river, which for decades had furnished the necessary driving force to make machines operate. The criteria through which these productive systems have been selected finds its point of reference in the imaginary line given by the Pedemonte of the Alps, in the high Pianura Padana. This line marks a distinction: depending on moving north of south from it, two typologies of historical productive territories can be classified.
19
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21
22
The Valley System In the first case, the Valleys that penetrate the Lombardia pre-alps: Val Trompia, Val Seriana e Val Brembana. These territories can be described as linear systems that from the flat Pianura Padana go into the valley bottoms. The three selected valleys present some common elements. Infrastructures: Moving through the valley happens mainly on the north-south axis through state and provincial roads. There is also the presence of dismissed railways, particularly in Val Seriana and Val Brembana, not in function since the end of the 60’s. In some traits, these train lines have been transformed into bike lanes. Generally, the tendency has been a progressive replacement of the transportation of people and goods through trains to the one trough cars. Artificial/Natural: The urbanization process has almost saturated the valley bottoms, smothering the river and living small and fragmentary natural elements, that are to be found on the sides of the mountains. Water: Ecological Water Quality of the rivers shows today good levels of health in all cases.
23
However, some distinctions can be made based on the width of the valley bottoms. The different geomorphologies determine different modalities through which residential and productive tissues coexist.
24
Val Trompia
25
Dismissed Areas from Cartography
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
5m Contours
Primary Water Streams
Secondary Water Streams
Dismissed Areas from Cartography
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
Railway
Highways
Roads
Residential
Productive
Population
13 92.494 45,5 63,9%
Number of municipalities Inhabitants Average age Employment rate
River
96 km 1.083 km² Good 11 m³/s
Lenght Basin Ecological State Medium Flow
Production Historical Production Active Industries Industrial Employees % on Population
28
Metals/Arms 1.569 20.706 22,4 %
Val Trompia and Val Seriana present the widest vally bottoms. This permits to the residential and productive tissues to be juxtaposed along the course of the valley, with a tendency of industrial platforms to develop next to the Mella river. In the case of Val Trompia, the industrial patrimony is majorly present in the “entrance” of the valley, where the biggest dismissed areas are located. In the “high” valley, dismissed areas are connected to the presence of old mines for the extraction of iron, abandoned since the 90’s.
29
Atlas of Abandonment
DISMISSED AREAS
TOTAL AREA INFRASTRUCTURE:
STATE OF ABANDONMENT Total 30
Partial
31
32
33
Val Seriana
34
Dismissed Areas from Cartography
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
5m Contours
Primary Water Streams
Secondary Water Streams
Dismissed Infrastructures
Dismissed Areas from Cartography
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
Railway
Highways
Roads
Residential
Productive
Population
20 102.711 46,0 64,4 %
Number of municipalities Inhabitants Average age Employment rate
River
124 km 1.256 km² Sufficient 23 m³/s
Lenght Basin Ecological State Medium Flow
Production Historical Production Active Industries Industrial Employees % on Population
37
Tessile 880 19.044 18,5 %
The Val Seriana Industrial Patrimony is majorly distributed along the Serio river, and it is linked to the textile productive past of these places, in which the river’s water was used to put machines in function. Generally, this linear system typology still presents a strong productive character, with percentages of population involved in industrial production that are around the 20%. Val Trompia and Val Seriana are nowadays recognized as industrial districts, respectively as Distretto del ferro delle Valli Bresciane e Distretto tessile della Val Seriana.
38
Atlas of Abandonment
DISMISSED AREAS
TOTAL AREA INFRASTRUCTURE:
STATE OF ABANDONMENT Total 39
Partial
40
41
42
Val Brembana
44
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
5m Contours
Primary Water Streams
Secondary Water Streams
Dismissed Infrastructures
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
Railway
Highways
Roads
Residential
Productive
Population Number of municipalities Inhabitants Average age Employment rate
10 41.734 44,5 64,4 % River
Lenght Basin Ecological State Medium Flow
74 km 935 km² Sufficient 23 m³/s Production
Historical Production Active Industries Industrial Employees % on Population
47
Textile, Paper 308 7.852 18,8 %
The narrowest vally bottom is to be found in Val Brembana. In the lowest part of the valley the river flows at a lower level, so that the valley is split in two separated parts, on natural terracing. Moving along the valley, productive platforms and residential areas alternate along the Brembo river; only in specific parts the valley widens so that these two elements can coexist. The Valley is run throgh by the SS470 road, and it presents an industrial patrimony relatively small, when confronted to other linear systems of the Atlas.
48
Atlas of Abandonment
DISMISSED AREAS
TOTAL AREA INFRASTRUCTURE
STATE OF ABANDONMENT Total 49
Partial
50
51
52
The alluvial plain system Focusing on the western part of the Lombardia region, the historically productive linear territories are identified with the course of Adda, Lambro and Olona rivers, which, coming out of the prealps, have created valley bottoms of different width. These systems can be described as “incisions� in the high Pianura Padana. These first parts of rivers right below the pedemontana line have been the incubators of the industrialization process that had brought these territories to have a crucial role in the Italian productive panorama of the 20th century, especially in textile and paper production. The urbanization of these territories in the last decades has happened on the pianalti on the side of the rivers’ bed, on a higher altitude, continuously leaving the places of the bottom valleys. The ancient villages where inhabitants used to live and descend from in order to go to work in the valleys, have developed along the principal road axes, producing conurbations where residential and productive tissue mix. Today, industrial production in these places comes in the form of industrial platforms of different sizes, which have developed following the main infrastructures such as roads, highways and railways. The small amount productive spaces in the valley bottoms present a fragmentary character, lin-
53
ked to the roads that connect the two sides of the valley. These productive activities often reside within historical buildings, with a partial usage of space The presence of infrastructures along the valley bottoms in the longitudinal direction is limited. However, the presence of bike lanes and naturalistic paths, permit visitors to admire the historical industrial patrimony, within a naturalistic context composed of broad-leaved woods and wet meadows. Also in this case, the Valley bottom width determines the relationship between living and producing relate to each other.
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Adda Valley
56
Dismissed Areas from Cartography
Dismissed Areas 5m Contours from Site Visit
Primary Water Streams
Secondary Water Streams
Dismissed Areas from Cartography
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
Railway
Highways
Roads
Residential
Productive
Population
13 102.423 43,5 63,9 %
Number of municipalities Inhabitants Average age Employment rate
River
313 km 7.979 km² Sufficient 187 m³/s
Lenght Basin Ecological State Medium Flow
Production Historical Production Active Industries Industrial Employees % on Population
59
Textile 839 7.656 7,5 %
The Adda river’s bed occupied most of the valley bottom, leaving little to no space to urbanization Given the dimension of the river, the Adda presents a flow which is also ten times higher then the other rivers of the atlas. This fact has historically meant that this river has been important for the production of electic energy. Along the river the large industrial complexes of cotton mills and spinning mills, along with hydroelectric power plants find place,
60
Atlas of abandonment
DISMISSED AREAS
TOTAL AREA INFRASTRUCTURE
STATE OF ABANDONMENT Total 61
Partial
62
63
64
Lambro Valley
66
Dismissed Areas from Cartography
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
5m Contours
Primary Water Streams
Secondary Water Streams
Dismissed Areas from Cartography
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
Railway
Highways
Roads
Residential
Productive
Population
14 126.027 44,2 65,9 %
Number of municipalities Inhabitants Average age Employment rate
River
130 km 1.350 km² Scarso 6 m³/s
Lenght Basin Ecological State Medium Flow
Production Historical Production Active Industries Industrial Employees % on Population
69
Tessile, Carta 1.405 16.751 13,3 %
The territories crossed by the Lambro and Olona rivers share similar characteristics. Within both valley bottoms torrential rivers occupy a small portion, leaving room for the few remaining industrial activities. The smaller size of the riverbed has also made possible the birth of the first water mills, adopted first for the production of wheat, then for the mechanical spinning machines of the mid19th century. In particular, the Valley dug by the Lambro river has the smaller width, in which buildings in total or partial disuse alternate with industrial platforms still in operation.
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Atlas of abandonment
DISMISSED AREAS
TOTAL AREA INFRASTRUCTURE
STATE OF ABANDONMENT Total 71
Partial
72
73
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Olona Valley
76
Dismissed Dismissed Areas Areas from from Cartography Site Visit
5m Contours
Primary Water Streams
Secondary Water Streams
Dismissed Infrastructures
Dismissed Areas from Cartography
Dismissed Areas from Site Visit
Railway
Highways
Roads
Residential
Productive
Population
15 180.453 45,5 63,9 %
Number of municipalities Inhabitants Average age Employment rate
River
96 km 1.038 km² Poor 11 m³/s
Lenght Basin Ecological State Medium Flow
Production Historical Production Active Industries Industrial Employees % on Population
79
Textile, Paper 1.831 16.445 9,1 %
The Olona Valley, whose bottom of the valley is broader, is the only territory of this type that presents a disused railway, no longer in operation since the late ‘70s, which linked the area with Switzerland. Generally, this type of territories have presented halved values concerning the employment in the industrial sector, if compared to the pre-Alpine valleys, witnessing the fact that these valleys have almost lost their productive vocation.
80
Atlas of Abandonment
DISMISSED AREAS
TOTAL AREA INFRASTRUCTURE
STATE OF ABANDONMENT Total 81
Partial
82
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84
85
86
87
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Conclusions This Atlas describes two types of productive territories that have reacted differently to the major upheavals that have affected the production sector in the last three decades, linked to the delocalization of production and the growing competitiveness of other countries. On the one hand the system of the Pre-Alpine Valleys that have been able to resist and turn into real industrial districts. This might have happened thanks to the close physical and spatial relationship between living and producing, made possible by the geomorphology of the territory. The urban concentration through the saturation of the valley bottom has made possible the cohesion of the human and productive element, to the detriment of the natural landscape in which they are inserted. On the other hand, the alluvial plains, in which the dispersion of urbanized land in the plateaus has led to the weakening of the relationship with industrial production, which has moved to the plateaus along the most recent urbanization axes. This is evident by the large amount and variety of industrial architectures now in disuse, inserted in a natural context to be protected. Despite this process of abandonment, the inhabitants still show a strong identity bond with this type of territory, linked to memories of a productive past.
89
For this second type of territory we can think of a new role within the Milanese metropolitan area, where the valley bottoms may once again have the function of aggregation and meeting space for the inhabitants, through the reuse of abandoned buildings, within a natural context. For these reasons, it was decided to focus on the territory of the Olona Valley, not only because of the large quantity and variety of decommissioned heritage, but also because of the possibility of re-signifing a territory with historical value.
91
The Olona Valley
Narrating the Olona Valley Among these territories, we have chosen to focus our attention on the Olona Valley, since in our opinion a large amount of disuse corresponds to an equally great potential. We analyzed this potential in more detail through on-site surveys, during which we tried to understand the current state of the territory, and the forms in which the production took place historically. We also talked to the people that live this territory every day, who told us about their experiences with the places of the valley. The result of these surveys are two maps of the current state of the valley that show the two main characters in the landscape. The first concerns urban settlements and architecture, the second concerns natural spaces. The current situation of the valley is the result of urban development processes that have affected the valley bottom and the plateaus. We have synthesized these processes through the superimposition of three historical periods starting from the middle of the 19th century, when the first cadastral map was drawn. The Olona therefore remains a witness of the industrial events of this area that extends from Milano to Varese. It can be observed how the urbanization process in the plateaus took place around the historical centers, and along the main road axes, leading to a progressive waterproofing of the soil, which has been responsible for the continuous flooding of the river. These floods are now limited thanks to the 93
opening of the dam in Malnate, inaugurated in 2011. Along the river, it can be seen how in 1848 production was still linked to the river, with the presence of water mills and the first cotton mills, which exploited the driving force of the water to operate the millstones and spinning mills. The river was channeled through the rogge molinare, artificial derivations that constituted the “water machine�. The first half of the twentieth century sees the progressive abandonment of water as a driving force, thanks to the advent of electricity. The production is also diversified with the appearance of paper mills, dyeing plants and bleaches, whose processes pollute the river. There is therefore a progressive simplification of the shape of the river, as the ditches are gradually closed and the mills abandoned. There is also the opening of the Valmorea railway: many factories along the river had their own stop. A railway line linking Castellanza with Mendrisio, which has ceased to function since the sixties and seventies, when the industry of the Valle Olona enters an irreversible crisis. Progressively, most factories definitively interrupt production activities, leaving an important patrimony of industrial archeology along the areas adjacent to the Olona. This long history has created a strong sense of belonging between the inhabitants and the territory. This has also turned into the birth of various associations, which through small operations take care of the territory.
94
A4
255 m s.l.m
230 m s.l.m
205 m s.l.m
Mulino del Sasso Cotonificio Ponti
235 m s.l.m
A 36
95
Tintoria Tronconi Mulino del Sasso Tintoria Zerbi Candeggio Pigni
Mulino Taglioretti
Cotonificio Candiani
Cartiera Vita Mayer II
Cartiera Vita Mayer I
220 m s.l.m
260m s.l.m
290 m s.l.m
0
Valley bottom Fondovalle
Production Produzione
Total Dismissione Totale Abandonment
Partial Dismissione Parziale Abandonment
Olona Fiume Olona River
Secondary Corsi d’acqua secondari rivers
ReteHighways Autostradale
Roads Rete Stradale
Railway System Valmorea Railway Rete Ferroviaria Ferrovia Valmorea
250 m
Bike Lane Percorso Ciclopedonale
500 m
Cross Connection Collegamenti trasversali
N
Tintoria Zerbi
305 m s.l.m
320 m s.l.m
Mulino Zacchetto
240 m s.l.m
Muli
Mulino S. Pancrazio
270 m s.l.m
97
ino del Celeste
19,5 km
A 60
370 m s.l.m
Cartiera Crespi
Mulini di Gurone
275 m s.l.m
270 m s.l.m Cotonificio Schoch
350 m s.l.m
Percorso ciclopedonale
Caselli Ferroviari
Ferrovia Valmorea
Edifici in uso parziale
Edifici dismessi
Rete Ferroviaria
0
Valley bottom Fondovalle
Production Produzione
Total Dismissione Totale Abandonment
Partial Dismissione Parziale Abandonment
Olona Fiume Olona River
Secondary Corsi d’acqua secondari rivers
ReteHighways Autostradale
Roads Rete Stradale
Railway System Valmorea Railway Rete Ferroviaria Ferrovia Valmorea
Rete Autostradale
250 m
Bike Lane Percorso Ciclopedonale
Rete Stradale
500 m
Cross Connection Collegamenti trasversali
N
99
100
255 m s.l.m
230 m s.l.m
205 m s.l.m
235 m s.l.m
101
220 m s.l.m
260m s.l.m
290 m s.l.m
0
Fondovalle Valley bottom
Boschi di Broad-leaved Latifoglie Woods
Seminativi Agriculture Semplici
Prati Stabili Meadows
Zone Ripariali Riparian
Vegetation
Fiume OlonaOlona River
Corsi d’acqua Secondary secondari Water Bodies
250 m
500 m
N
305 m s.l.m
320 m s.l.m
240 m s.l.m
270 m s.l.m
103
370 m s.l.m
275 m s.l.m
270 m s.l.m
350 m s.l.m
0
Fondovalle Valley bottom
Boschi di Broad-leaved Latifoglie Woods
Seminativi Agriculture Semplici
Prati Stabili Meadows
Zone Ripariali Riparian
Vegetation
Fiume OlonaOlona River
Corsi d’acqua Secondary secondari Water Bodies
250 m
500 m
N
105
106
255 m s.l.m
230 m s.l.m
205 m s.l.m
Mulino del Sasso Cotonificio Ponti
235 m s.l.m
107
Tintoria Tronconi Mulino del Sasso Tintoria Zerbi Candeggio Pigni
Mulino Taglioretti
Cotonificio Candiani
Cartiera Vita Mayer II
Cartiera Vita Mayer I
220 m s.l.m
260m s.l.m
290 m s.l.m
0
Valley bottom Fondovalle
1878
1954
1980
2017
Olona Olona River Fiume
Channels in Derivazioni nel 1878
ReteHighways Autostradale
ReteRailways Ferroviaria
Contour Isoipse a 5 lines metri
250 m
500 m
N
Tintoria Zerbi
305 m s.l.m
320 m s.l.m
Mulino Zacchetto
240 m s.l.m
Muli
Mulino S. Pancrazio
270 m s.l.m
109
ino del Celeste
370 m s.l.m
Cartiera Crespi
Mulini di Gurone
275 m s.l.m
270 m s.l.m Cotonificio Schoch
350 m s.l.m
0
Valley bottom Fondovalle
1878
1954
1980
2017
Olona Olona River Fiume
Channels in Derivazioni nel 1878
ReteHighways Autostradale
ReteRailways Ferroviaria
Contour Isoipse a 5 lines metri
250 m
500 m
N
111
112
Journey in the Valley of Labour’s Utopia “A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at.”
Oscar Wilde The Soul of Man Under Socialism
115
Frederick Pollock AUTOMATION A Study of its Economic and Social Consequences FREDERICK A. PRAEGER, Publishers New York
T
he territory of the Olona Valley presents a series of potentials linked to the reuse of production spaces, the reconstruction of natural spaces along the river and the presence of the abandoned railway. The inhabitants of the municipalities that flank the valley have shown a strong sense of belonging to the territory, and an equally strong entrenchment to the Olona river’s past; for these two reasons, we imagined a Utopia, based on real dynamics that are impacting the world of work. “Quest’Utopia si propone come confronto critico con il presente e la sua storia ed immaginazione di un futuro possibile e necessario.” (B. Secchi, 2005) Automation
Parallel to the research on today’s and yesterday’s production, research on tomorrow’s has been deepened; what is happening in the labor market concerns the question of automation linked to the rise of artificial intelligence. Two studies in particular show that in the coming decades a percentage of jobs between 45% and 55% will be automated thanks to the introduction of intelligent machines. These texts are: A Future That Works: Automation, Employment, And Productivity, compiled by the Mckinsey Global Institute in 2017 and The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs To Computerization?, of the University of Oxford, 2013. The possible automation of work opens socio-economic scenarios linked to a new society, in which man perceives an universal basic income, as theorized by Philippe Van Parijs, in the text Basic Income: A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and a Healthy Economy: “A basic income is not just a clever measure that may help alleviate urgent problems. It is a central pillar of a free society, in which the real freedom to flourish, through work and outside work, will be fairly distributed. It is an essential element of a radical alternative.”
The Universal Basic Income represents an instrument of freedom for a new society. “A post-work world is therefore not a world of idleness; rather, it is a world in which people are no longer bound to their jobs, but free to create their own lives.”
Inventing the future, Postcapitalism and a World Without Work
116
The Freedom to Play
In the case of the inhabitants of Olona Valley, the freedom offered by a postwork society turns into the will to take care of the territory, given the bond between people and the place, taking the character of a social game of construction and deconstruction. “Play can be deferred or suspended at any time. It is never imposed by physical necessity or moral duty. It is never a task. It is done at leisure, during “free time”. Only when play is a recognized cultural function-a rite, a ceremony-is it bound up with notions of obligation and duty. Here, then, we have the first main characteristic of play: that it is free, is in fact freedom.”
Homo Ludens
John Huizinga
Play thus becomes the primary element upon which the new society is based, as theorized by John Huizinga in the text Homo Ludens. This theory has profoundly influenced Constant’s work in the construction of his New Babylon, in which man, freed from the automation of productive labor, becomes capable of developing his own growth through play and creative development. “Tutte le arti andranno a collaborare in un Grande Gioco che verrà, in questa attività di trasformazione dello spazio che si chiamerà urbanismo unitario. New Babylon sarà dunque una grande opera collettiva, sarà il frutto della creatività dei neobabilonesi, di una nuova società multietinica che comincerà a costruire e a ricostruire il proprio spazio.”
Constant: New Babylon, una città nomade
Francesco Careri
Constant designs a city made of empty spaces, where its inhabitants can self-determine their environment and living spaces, and can choose to change and move at any time. “Le città come le conosciamo, non potranno mai diventare uno spazio per la vita ludica delle masse. Per creare questo spazio ci sarà bisogno di un nuovo principio di urbanizzazione basato sulla socializzazione della terra e dei mezzi di produzione.”
Constant: New Babylon, una città nomade
Francesco Careri
New Babylon is a concrete Utopia inasmuch as its historical reference is concrete as well. Nomadism as a rejection of the capitalist production system, as a rejection of the system of accumulation of goods, as a rejection of private property and of every ethnic and economic boundary. Nomadism for a new use of time, space, one’s life.
117
Unlike the latter, the playful society presented in Valley of Labour’s Utopia is not based on Neo-Babylonian nomadism but on the sense of belonging to a territory made up of real places. Homo Ludens is a fully free and conscious individual who can implement on the world by recreating it through creativity and free play, a fundamental form of learning in a self-built architecture made of reused materials that favors play, adventure, encounter and creative exchange. “In fondo, in ogni visitazione dei luoghi, portiamo con noi questo carico di già vissuto e già visto, ma lo sforzo che quotidianamente siamo portati a compiere, è quello di ritrovare uno sguardo che cancella e dimentica l’abitudine; non tanto per rivedere con occhi diversi, quanto per la necessità di orientarsi di nuovo nello spazio e nel tempo.”
Pensare per immagini Luigi Ghirri
Our work does not represent an imaginary model of a perfect society, where men live in the full realization of an ideal, but a real place near Varese, where men aim not to build new spaces but to re-identify existing ones.
118
Journey in the Valley of Labour’s Utopia
In order to narrate of our journey we have taken as a reference the story of My brother Aleksej’s journey in the country of the peasant utopia, written by the Russian economist Aleksandr V. Cajanov in 1920. This small text describes a Russia in which the peasant parties took the power. At the base of the economic system there is the individual peasant farm considered as the most perfect type of economic activity, in which every worker is a creator and every manifestation of his individuality is art. It narrates a Russia in which the revolutionary measure of the prohibition of cities of more than twenty thousand inhabitants makes them places of transit, gathering and entertainment of the rural population, and a great part of the cultural activity takes place there. “Mentre la macchina sfrecciava silenziosamente sul nastro asfaltato del Viale Novo-Jerusalimskij, e dai due lati della strada sfilavano campi dove migliaia di contadini si affrettavano a mettere al riparo gli ultimi covoni di avena prima della pioggia, egli non si trattenne e chiese al suo compagno: Perché diavolo usate nei campi una tale quantità di lavoro umano? Possibile che la vostra tecnica, che sa padroneggiare con facilità la pioggia e il sereno, sia impotente a meccanizzare il lavoro agricolo e a liberare braccia per compiti più qualificati? -Ecco l’americano che parla! No egregio Mr Charlie, c’è ben poco da fare contro la legge della fertilità decrescente dei suoli. |..| L’agricoltura non è mai stata così manuale come oggi. E non si tratta di un capriccio, bensì una necessità dettata dalla densità della nostra popolazione.’’ Viaggio di mio fratello Aleksej nel paese dell’Utopia contadina Aleksandr V. Cajanov
In the case of the Olona Valley, the theme of the journey to Utopia turns into a four-step itinerary which ecnounters the operations carried out by the inhabitants with the aim of re-signifing open and closed spaces. The common attitude of these operations is linked to the moment of sharing of construction, as well as the collective use of places. This “game” represents an opportunity to offer spaces for participation and social inclusion, build communities and promote a bottom-up approach made of initiatives for the regeneration of the territory, through sustainable ethics linked to the reuse of recycled low cost materials.
These four steps are as follows:
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- Sasso’s Water Mill. The conditions of total abandonment of the old mill bring the inhabitants to dismantle the structure, recovering the materials where possible. The reopening of the old Roggia Molinara, of which the trail still exists, is an opportunity to restore within the river to a humid ecosystem, recovering a relationship between the river and the urban settlements with the definition of a social program linked to agriculture. - Candiani Cotton Mill. Closed at the end of the ‘70s, the cotton mill is composed of a series of buildings with one floor, now in a state of partial use. The good infrastructural connection brings to the reactivation of three of these buildings as hubs for the recovery and work of waste materials coming from the valley and from the plateaus. The Valmorea railway, put back into operation, allows goods and people to travel along the bottom of the valley in north-south direction. In particular, one of the three buildings is used as a space for artisan work through the insertion of modules that create flexible manual work spaces. - Vita Mayer Paper Mill. Closed in the mid-80s, the paper mill presents a series of different sized and shaped factory buildings, linked to the different phases of the paper production process. Some pavilions are reused seasonally as places through the introduction of cultural and sporting activities. This is made possible thanks to the central position within the valley, the good connection through the cycle path and the reactivation of the Valmorea railway. In particular, the former cellulose deposit is reused in the hot seasons as a large room in which sports, play, library and recreational space can coexist by building a perimeter service structure that leaves intact the large vaulted space. - Gurone Water Mill. Here the Casamatta project (https://www.facebook.com/casamatta.gurone/) is already underway, which acts to re-design the old mill as a resting place for those who cross the valley, and as a point of aggregation for the city of Varese. This happens through the inclusion of a small hostel and shared spaces between those who live in the mills and those who are just passing through. The reuse of the small open space that overlooks the old Molinara canal is through the construction of a structure that regulates the circulation between open and closed spaces, also hosting a small cycle shop and a small open-air theater.
The operations that we narrate could be reported in places along the Olona with characters similar to those that are described through the four stops. Our trip to the Valley of Labour’s Utopia returns a final map, in which the places we told are represented, crossed by the river Olona, by the Valmorea railway and by the cycle path. “In ogni caso tutta questa vostra tecnologia, tutte queste fabbriche e marchingegni, e tutto questo agitarsi affanosamente per poter lavorare di meno e mangiare di più... non sono che stampelle, protesi. L’umanità invece esiste per creare... Per creare opere d’arte! Questo perlomeno è disinteressato, a differenza di tutte le altre azioni umane. Grandi illusioni, fantasmi sfocati della verità in assoluto...” Stalker Andrej Tarkovskij
120
28’
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
San Pancrazio
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
122
Gurone
Crespi
Varese
John Huizinga, Homo Ludens
2
2
4 3
1
2
1 610 m2
870 m2
60
1
Valmorea Stop Fermata Valmorea
3
Orti didattici Gardens Educational
Valmorea
Spazio dell’interazione Space sociale Self-determined
Agricoltura Agriculture
2
Dismissed Buildings Edifici dismessi
4
Phytodepurative Canal Apertura roggia depurativa
Strade Roads
Fascia ripariale Riparian Zone
PratoMeadow Umido Wet
Scala 1:2000
Olgiate Olona’s inhabitants have introduced a wet meadow along the renewed roggia of the Olona river
125
The macrophytic plants have phytodepurative properties. They are distinguished in emerging, floating and submerged.
126
Part of Mulino del Sasso’s recovery bricks of the have been used to create paths leading to the educational gardens
127
The new meadow is a transitional point between the town and the new railway line, where the community works close to the river.
128
28’
Zerbi
San Pancrazio
Crespi
Gurone
Varese
San Pancrazio
Crespi
Gurone
Varese
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
28’
130
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
John Huizinga, Homo Ludens
Constant, New Babylon
2
2
3
1
4
1 050 m2
440 m2
50
1
Valmorea Stop Fermata Valmorea
3
Recylced MagazzinoMaterial materialiWarehouse riciclati
2
Workshop Space Spazio Workshop
4
Phytodepurative Canal Apertura roggia molinara
Valmorea Strade Roads
Spazio dell’interazione Space sociale Self-determined
Agricoltura Agriculture
Fascia ripariale Riparian Zone
PratoMeadow Umido Wet
Scala 1:2000
The space of the craft workshops is composed of a series of attachable modules built by the inhabitants
133
X8
X8
X 16
X8
X8
Tavola in legno 15x3x220 cm
Tavola in legno 15x3x300 cm
Tavola in legno 15x3x190 cm
Tavola in legno 15x3x300 cm
Pannello in legno 220x2x220 cm
134
0
75 cm
150 cm
Once assembled and composed, the modules create spaces of different sizes, suitable for different work needs
135
The former bending factory has become the shared space where the materials of the Valley are processed by the inhabitants collectively
136
28’
San Pancrazio
Crespi
Gurone
Varese
San Pancrazio
Crespi
Gurone
Varese
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
Zerbi
28’
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
28’ Varese
Gurone
Crespi
San Pancrazio
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
138
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
John Huizinga, Homo Ludens
Gurone
Varese
Crespi
Constant, New Babylon
Renè Braem, Herbeginnen 0
4
2
2
3
1
2
3 726 m2
1 440 m2
800
1
Valmorea Stop Fermata Valmorea
3
Multifunctional Space Spazio polifunzionale
Valmorea
Self-determined Spazio dell’interazione Space sociale
Agricoltura Agriculture
2
GiardinoGarden d’inverno Winter
4
Apertura roggia depurativa Phytodepurative Channel
Strade Roads
Fascia ripariale Riparian Zone
PratoMeadow Umido Wet
Scala 1:2000
The inhabitants have assembled terraced modules, using recycled materials from other places in the Valley
141
X 1.200
X 18
X 21
Mattoni di recupero Recycled Bricks
Pannelli in legno 2 x 50 x 150 cm Timber Panels
Travetti in legno 5 x 5 x 150 cm Timber Joists
X6 Travi inBeams Legno 15 x 15 x 300 cm Timber
142
0
50 cm
100 cm
Una volta affiancati, i moduli creano una fascia perimetrale di servizi per differenti usi, che lascia intatto il grande spazio voltato della sala.
Once placed, the modules create a perimeter band of services for different uses, which leaves intact the large vaulted space of the hall.
143
The paper mill is now a large public space that can host different activities depending on the needs, related to sport, culture and leisure.
144
28’ San Pancrazio
Crespi
Gurone Varese
San Pancrazio
Crespi
Gurone
Varese
San Pancrazio
Crespi
Gurone
Varese
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
Zerbi
28’
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
28’
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
28’ Varese
Gurone
Crespi
San Pancrazio
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
146
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
John Huizinga, Homo Ludens
Gurone
Varese
Crespi
Constant, New Babylon
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
Renè Braem, Herbeginnen 0
Luigi Ghirri, Pensare per immagini
4
1
3
2 4
2
650 m2
450 m
40
1
Valmorea Stop Fermata Valmorea
3
Hostel Ostello
Valmorea
Self-determined Spazio dell’interazione Space sociale
Agricoltura Agriculture
2
Orti Urbani Urban Gardens
4
Apertura roggia molinara Phytodepurative Channel
Strade Roads
Fascia ripariale Riparian Zone
PratoMeadow Umido Wet
Scala 1:2000
The inhabitants have built a scaffholding structure, without touching the structure of the old mill.
149
X 72 Trave in legno 8x3x85cm Timber Beams
X 12
X 40
Profilo U in acciao 65x42x1000mm U Metal Profile
Giunto P.T.G. P.T.G. Joint
77,4 m Tubo innocenti Scaffholding Pipes ø 4,8 cm
X6 Pannello in legno 220x2x220 cm Timber Panels
150
0
75 cm
150 cm
The structure allows guests of the hostel to reach the rooms, while on the ground floor it houses a bike workshop
151
The Gurone mills have become a resting place for those who travel along the Valley, but also a meeting point for the inhabitants
152
153
154
A4
255 m s.l.m
230 m s.l.m
205 m s.l.m
235 m s.l.m
A 36
155
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
Zerbi
San Pancrazio
260m s.l.m
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
220 m s.l.m
John Huizinga, Homo Ludens
28’
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
San Pancrazio
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
290 m s.l.m
Constant, New Babylon
Gurone
Varese
Crespi
San Pancrazio
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
28’
Renè Braem, Herbeginnen 0
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
San Pancrazio
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
28’
Luigi Ghirri, Pensare per immagini
28’
0
Spazio interazione Self-determined sociale Space
Produzione Automated
Production
Nuovi spazi New Agriculture agricoli
Agricoltura Existing Agriculture
Fascia Ripariale Riparian
Zone
Boschi di Broad-leaved latifoglie Woods
Fiume Olona Olona River
Impianti Hydroelectric idroelettrici Plants
Casello Valmorea Valmorea Stop
Spazi Workshop Workshop Spaces
2 500 MWh
11
5 250 m2
250 m
Spazi polifunzionali Leisure
11 200 m2
500 m
N
Ostello Hostel
1 300 m2
305 m s.l.m
320 m s.l.m
240 m s.l.m
270 m s.l.m
157
Varese
Gurone
275 m s.l.m Crespi
Zerbi
San Pancrazio
270 m s.l.m
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
370 m s.l.m
John Huizinga, Homo Ludens
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
San Pancrazio
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
28’
Constant, New Babylon
28’
Gurone
Varese
Crespi
San Pancrazio
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
350 m s.l.m
Renè Braem, Herbeginnen 0
Varese
Gurone
Crespi
San Pancrazio
Zerbi
Vita Mayer
Candiani
Ponti
Del Sasso
Castellanza
28’
Luigi Ghirri, Pensare per immagini
28’
0
Spazio interazione Self-determined sociale Space
Produzione Automated
Production
Nuovi spazi New Agriculture agricoli
Agricoltura Existing Agriculture
Fascia Ripariale Riparian
Zone
Boschi di Broad-leaved latifoglie Woods
Fiume Olona Olona River
Impianti Hydroelectric idroelettrici Plants
Casello Valmorea Valmorea Stop
Spazi Workshop Workshop Spaces
2 500 MWh
11
5 250 m2
250 m
Spazi polifunzionali Leisure
11 200 m2
500 m
N
Ostello Hostel
1 300 m2
Conclusions The utopia of the Labour’s Valley is set up as a pretext to propose a possible direction for a territory that today is interpreted as a caesura in the upper Lombard. Utopia thus becomes the critical tool to demonstrate how the Olona Valley can become the large public space, open to the settlements of the plateaus. A large public space that works on the North-South Axis through:
159
-The renaturalization of the Olona river through the creation of an ecological corridor leading from the Prealps to the Milan metropolitan area, and the creation of a new water machine that purifies the Olona river -The infrastructure of the Valmorea railway as a mobility of goods and people, the slow mobility represented by the cycle path -The reconfiguration of the large industrial platforms present in the valley bottom as characteristic elements of the public space
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