Border | Memories - the Project

Page 1

Border | Memories - elisa mansutti -

the project


rombon

bovec

kobarid


spring

trenta

Ç so a

isonzo river itinerary fortress

telferage

camping

monastery

skiing

birdwatching

museum

kayaking

fishing

war cemetery

climbing cycle-biking hiking


kobarid

mt kolovrat plain-air museum


tolmin

concentration camp


deskle

mt sabotino peace park trail intersection solkan

nova gorica

gorizia

topografie della memoria


lokve

trnovski godz

foibe mali golak

trnovo crni vrh


concentration camp

gradisca d’isonzo

mt san michele

san michele del carso

trail intersection

redipuglia

doberdò

castellazzo

carso 2014+



bonifica della vittoria concentration camp cona island

punta sdobba fishers’village lagoon of grado

grado




291

the program

the program After having: . mapped the difficult heritage sites (concentration camps and foibe) of the macro-region ‘Venezia Giulia’; . found a connecting element (the Isonzo/Soca river)and determined the area of action; . selected the difficult heritage sites to develop; . selected the other sites of interest after the context analysis; . compiled a file for every site with historic introduction, pictures, and description; . picked out the intermediate places (the bridges) that physically permit to cross the river and to pass from one site to the other; now it is the turn to develop a strategy for the re-narration and re-activation of the territory’s shared memories. The river is the connecting element, the metaphor of the border and the bridges are the physical entities that systematize the memories and the shared sites of the territory bathed by the Isonzo. Therefore the project is constituted by the crossings that introduce the specific sites. The strategy is to define a topic for each spot that will be developed in architectonic means. Every site treats a theme related to its specific past while the bridge connected with it develops a topic that introduces in a general way the specific topic of the site. Both spots (the bridge and the site) give only sinthetic information about the topic, they rather employ architectonic means

to induce sensations, optical and spacial effects that remind the topic. The aim is to lead the individues think during a dynamic fruition of the space. The spots become infrastructures useful to the reactivation of the memory, but in a subjective way: it is up to the individue whether to examine in depth the topic or just to use the infrastructure. With regard to the bridges, the planning strategy is to flank each existent bridge with a pedestrian bridge serving as useful infrastructure (as it separates the pedestrians’ flux to the cars’ one) together with the transmission of information. -

-


292

PART 7|the project

km 38

km 50

km 38

km 50

km 85

km 100 km 85

km 100

km 120

km 120


293

the program

general theme

specific theme

bridge

site history

kobarid

mt kolovrat

propaganda

mt kolovrat open-air museum

the influence of governments on civils’ opinion with the use of censorship and propaganda

the isonzo battles

tolmin

ciginj

victims/perpetrators

concentration camp of ciginj

the contradictory role of every population being them victims and perpetrators during the history

the ignored brief duration of the concentration camp in ciginj

solkan

trnovo

the result of the intimate fear of the elements of a group towards who do not share the same ideals

the murder of the yugoslavian regime’s oppositors

poggio terzarmata

poggio terzarmata

elimination of the diverse

segregation

foibe

concentration camp of poggio t. carso battles

the confinement the populations are forced to withstand because of war events or racial discrimination

the forced reclusion of slavic people in the silk factory due to ethnic reasons

fossalon

fossalon

the relocation of populations due to external causes

the forced-labour camp of slavic people in the reclaimed territory of fossalon

forced/spontaneous migrations concentration camp of fossalon bonifica della vittoria


kobarid

mt kolovrat


KM 37


296

PART 7| the project

(bovec)

bridge kobarid

gener al

itiner ar y

(tolmin)

a

ia

al

ij

en

ov sl it

mt kolovrat

open air museum


297

KM 38

bridge.............................

kobarid bridge

general theme (bridge).............

propaganda|misleading reality

altitude...........................

200 m (asl)

deviation to.......................

kobarid; mt kolovrat plain-air museum of ww1

specific theme (site)...............

the isonzo battles

next stop of the itinerary (north)...

bovec; trenta valley; springs

next stop of the itinerary (south)...

tolmin bridge; ciginj

distance...........................

14 km

altitude gap.......................

1000 m

max altitude.......................

1100 m (asl)

mt kolovrat open-air museum

kobarid ww1 museum

kobarid bridge (m)

1100 1000 500 200 0 0

1

14

(km)


298

PART 7|the project

PROPAGANDA

manipulated information

distorted truth

MISLEADING REALITY


299

KM 38

kobarid bridge [metaproject] PROPAGANDA The bridge of Kobarid is connected to the First World War open-air museum situated at Mount Kolovrat. The general theme handled at the bridge is ‘the use of propaganda in the field of war’. The war forces populations to fight against each other for economical, political, religious reasons and not all the individues agree with the entrance into the war. The governments, to obtain the support of all the people, use the propaganda and the censorship to influence their opinion, often distorting the reality, giving false information and using strategic mottos to deceive the individue. “Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels.” (Richard Alan Nelson)


300

PART 7|the project

reference:

Richard Serra ‘Snake and the Matter of Time’ Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain


301

KM 38

PROPAGANDA || MISLEADING REALITY how to give the ‘impression’ of the theme CONCEPT WARPING/DISTORTING SPACE

when walls, ceiling, pavement do not follow a perpendicular system, the effect on the visitors is that of disorientation What is straight, vertical? A certain way of arranging the elements can determine an alteration of the feeling of the space around, challenging the viewers’ perception of their bodies

z

x

y



plan 1:1500



section 1:1000



n

plan 1:100



view 1:100



section 1:100


PART 7|the project

view AA 1:100

b

a a

section BB 1:100

b

312


313

KM 38






318

PART 7|the project

scheme of the elements


319

KM 38

4

3

2

1

5

detail

steel i-beam (hea 1000), h 1000mm steel plate welded to i-beam, th 15mm steel unequal angle, 100x60x8mm wood panel, 700x150x30mm steel grating, 26x76mm

.1 .2 .3 .4 .5


1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

steel grating, 26x76mm wood panel, 700x150x30mm steel i-beam (hea 1000), h 1000mm steel unequal angle, 100x60x8mm steel plate welded to i-beam, th 15mm

b

b

a

a

1

2

3

detail bb 1:10


2 4

5

detail aa 1:10


ciginj


KM 50


324

PART 7| the project

(kobarid)

bridge

ciginj

ex concentration camp

(solkan)


325

KM 50

bridge.............................

tolmin bridge

general theme (bridge).............

victims/perpetrators|opposing paths

altitude...........................

150m (asl)

deviation to.......................

ciginj

specific theme (site)...............

ex-concentration camp

next stop of the itinerary (north)...

kobarid

next stop of the itinerary (south)...

solkan bridge - foibe of trnovo

distance...........................

2,4 km

altitude gap.......................

50 m

max altitude.......................

200 m (asl)

ciginj

tolmin bridge (m)

50 0 0

2,4

(km)


326

PART 7|the project

VICTIMS/PERPETRATORS

rival positions

interchange of roles

OPPOSING PATHS


327

KM 50

tolmin bridge [metaproject]

VICTIMS/PERPETRATORS The bridge of Tolmin is connected to the ex concentration camp placed in the nearby village of Ciginj. The general theme handled at the bridge is ‘the contradictory role of victim and perpetrator that every community plays in the course of history’. As well as the case of Italian and Slavic populations, the role of every community in the course of history is not easy to determine: during a certain period of time they might have been victims, in other perpetrators. It depends on the events that acted during that precise time. If we look at the History from a general point of view (calling it ‘super-history’) we could see the cycling change of roles that ‘erases’ every label. Who is victim now might have been perpetrator yesterday, and so on; so, talking about ‘super-history’, it has no significance calling it just victim or just perpetrator (like -1+1 is equal to 0).


328

PART 7|the project


329

KM 50

VICTIMS/PERPETRATORS || OPPOSING PATHS how to give the ‘impression’ of the theme CONCEPT PERIODIC OPPOSING PATHS

assume two periodic functions one opposite the other (’opposite’ in the sense that their curvature is contrary each other). two points moving along the curves will cyclically change their position being one the opposite the other: sometimes point A will be above point B, other times it will be below point B this idea represents the changing role of populations being them victims and perpetrators during the passing of time


ge

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bri dge new

plan 1:1500



section 1:1000



n

plan 1:100



n

plan 1:100



view 1:100



section 1:100


PART 7|the project

view AA 1:100

b

a a

section BB 1:100

b

346


347

KM 50






352

PART 7|the project

scheme of the elements


353

KM 50

3

2

1

detail

prefabricated concrete block .1 steel frame .2 metal grid .3


1. steel grating, 54x80mm 2. reinforced concrete retaining wall 3. steel upn profile, 80mm

a

a

b

b

1 3

3

detail bb 1:10


1

2

1

3

detail aa 1:10


356

PART 7|the project

A TEN-DAYS PAST

stratification of memories one of which is forgotten

FRAGMENTS


357

KM 50

ciginj concentration camp [metaproject] A TEN-DAYS PAST In 1942 the little village of Ciginj, situated in the proximity of Tolmin, hosted a Fascist concentration camp. The specific theme handled at the site is ‘the ignored brief duration of the camp’. The Fascist authorities transformed the military barracks already present in the village into a concentration camp that, because of the closeness with the Partisan movement and the tensions with the local population, worked only for two-three weeks. Later, the camp has been turned into a factory that is still in use. For many decades in ex Yugoslavia the recalling of the Fascist period was silently forbidden to discuss and probably for this reason the difficult past of the site in Ciginj is little aknowledged by the population. With the Yugoslavian dissolution the argument started to be discussed more openly.

The site is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains and oriented along the north-south axe. The ex concentration camp, now a factory, is placed in the northern extremity of the valley. The main road runs along the valley passing in Ciginj’s center and in front of the factory and, despite its narrow dimension, it is highly used by cars and trucks. For this reason, cyclists and pedestrians have difficulties in using that street, instead the secondary road that connects the village of Kozarsce (situated on the other side of the valley in front of Ciginj) to the factory, is safer and more used for hikes. The intent of the project is to provide the area with a cyclepedestrian lane that gives the opportunity to learn the history of the factory with a ‘fragmented wall’ that gives information, separates the lane to the street and hosts a spot where the visitors can stop to watch the landscape and the building mirroring their own image on the fragments. The project is the result of the superimposition of two needs: the need of a footpath and resting area for hikers and cyclists, and the need to remember the past of the site.


358

PART 7|the project

reference:

Rodan Kane Hart ‘Reflection:(strips)’ Cape Town, South Africa


359

KM 50

A TEN-DAYS PAST || FRAGMENTS how to give the ‘impression’ of the theme CONCEPT FRAGMENTED (REFLECTING) WALL

assume a fragmented reflecting surface: the reflected objects appear in pieces, the result is not a right specular image. the aim is to represent the lack of parts of memory of the site stimulating a emotional response through a fragmented reflection


(next bridge tolmin)

ex concentration camp

kozarsce

ciginj

(next bridge solkan)


modrejce

isonzo/soca modrej

most na soci






volce

ex concentration camp

fragmented wall

main street (traffic, no space for bikes-pedestrians)

deviation from the main street

ciginj


iso

nzo

kuk

mengore

kozarsce

the itinerary 1:7000


368

PART 7|the project


369

KM 50

fragmented view + self-reflection



site plan 1:1000



section 1:1000



n

plan 1:200



view 1:200


street limit

1.5m

filter

footpath

filter limit

386 PART 7|the project

5m

2m

3/4.5m


387

KM 50






mt sabotin

trnovski gozd

foibe


KM 75


396

(ciginj)

PART 7| the project

grgar

(poggio terzarmata)

voglarji

ravnica

foiba

solkan trnovo

kromberk nova gorica

smihel

ajsevica

rozna dolina

ozeljan


397

KM 50

bridge.............................

solkan bridge

general theme (bridge).............

elimination of the diverse|scrap

altitude...........................

90 m (asl)

deviation to.......................

trnovo

specific theme (site)...............

foibe

next stop of the itinerary (north)...

tolmin

next stop of the itinerary (south)...

gorizia-nova gorica

distance...........................

14 km

altitude gap.......................

720 m

max altitude.......................

810 m (asl)

foiba

trnovo

ravnica

prevala

solkan bridge

(m)

800 400 0 0

2,5

7

11

14

(km)


398

PART 7| the project

ELIMINATION OF THE DIVERSE

diverse paths/destinies

interrupted lifes

SCRAPS


399

KM 85

solkan bridge [metaproject] ELIMINATION OF THE DIVERSE The bridge of Solkan is connected to the foiba situated in the Trnovski Gozd forest. The general theme handled at the bridge is ‘the elimination of the diverse’. Crowds or certain communities can involve ‘herding behaviour’ that turns violent, particularly when confronted by an opposing ethnic or racial group. This behaviour is due to xenophobia, the irrational fear of the diverse. ‘It can manifest itself involving the relations and perceptions of an ingroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity’ (Wikipedia).

‘In typical crowd situations, factors such as anonymity, group unity, and arousal weaken personal control by distancing people from their personal identities and reducing their concerns for social evaluation’ (Wikipedia), leading them, in certain cases, to commit crimes. Xenophobia can elicit or facilitate hostile and violent reactions, such as mass expulsion of immigrants, pogroms or, in other cases, genocide.


400

PART 7| the project

scrap scrap

scrap

scrap


401

KM 85

ELIMINATION OF THE DIVERSE || SCRAPS how to give the ‘impression’ of the theme CONCEPT filtering elements

assume a filter only the elements with certain characteristic can pass beyond the filter, the others are scraps instead if the elements are willing to change their conformation they can pass anyway but they have adapt themselves to a ‘nature’ different from their origin


ne

w

br

ge id


ol

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br

id

ge

plan 1:1500



section 1:1000



n

plan 1:100



n

plan 1:100



view 1:100



section 1:100


418

PART 7| the project

view AA 1:100

section BB 1:100

a

b

a

b


419

KM 85






424

PART 7| the project

scheme of the elements


425

KM 85

5

1

4

3

2

detail

primary steel beam steel c-profile, 100mm steel i-profile, 100mm steel grating, 54x80mm steel sheet (welded to the primary beam), 15mm

.1 .2 .3 .4 .5


1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

steel i-beam, h 2700mm steel grating, 54x80mm steel upn profile, 100mm steel sheet (welded to the primary beam), h 2500mm, th 15mm elastomeric bridge bearing

b

a

b

a

1

2 3

detail bb 1:10


4

2

5

detail aa 1:10


428

PART 7| the project

SITE OF DEATH

open-air grave in the forest

need to overcome the trauma

LOOKING FROM ABOVE


429

KM 85

foiba of trnovo

[metaproject] A SITE OF DEATH In the proximity of the village of Trnovo, in the Trnovski Gozd forest, there is a deep carsic cavity, the foiba. The specific theme handled at the site is ‘the murder of the Yugoslavian regime’s oppositors’. The foiba of Trnovo was used to hide several dead bodies of soldiers and it is particularly famous because it was also used to kill and then hide the bodies of the oppositors of the regime. Most of them where Italians. In the past, the foiba, 138 meters deep, had been surveyed but it was not possible to count the exact number of victims. The foiba is situated in a forest interesting for its carsic rocks and richness of trees. The aim of the project is to distance the individues from the painful emotions of the difficult heritage and to look to the past with a general point of view. For this reason a curved path moves among the trees reaching a high position above the foiba, ending with a cantilever towards the outlook.


430

PART 7| the project


431

KM 85

SITE OF DEATH || LOOKING FROM ABOVE how to give the ‘impression’ of the theme CONCEPT EXPLORING THE ENVIRONMENT

assume a difficult heritage site the attention is focused on it, the feelings imply pain because of the sad memory the concept for overcoming the trauma and for going beyond the memorial is to involve the environment, its exploration re-activating the site with diverse layers: the memory and the fruition of the space in other ways one is free to choose whether to remember the past or only to live the place


grgar

isonzo/soca

ravnica

solkan


voglarji

foiba

trnovo






438

PART 7| the project

elevated point of view to the foiba

panoramic point of view

access path to the foiba inclination 8%


439

KM 85

foiba


to trnovo village


foiba

site plan 1:1000



section 1:1000


+5.3


8.8 5.8

foiba

n

plan 1:100


3.5

4.5


n

plan 1:100



view 1:100



section 1:100


PART 7| the project

a

section AA

a

456


457

KM 85






poggio terzarmata

carso


KM 100


464

PART 7| the project

bridge

poggio terzarmata

ex concentration camp


465

KM 100

bridge.............................

poggio terzarmata bridge

general theme (bridge).............

segregation|caging

altitude...........................

150 m (asl)

deviation to.......................

poggio terzarmata

specific theme (site)...............

poggio terzarmata ex concentration camp; carso 2014

next stop of the itinerary (north)...

solkan

next stop of the itinerary (south)...

fossalon

distance...........................

747 m

altitude gap.......................

0 m

max altitude.......................

32 m (asl)

poggio concentration camp

poggio bridge

(m)

0 0

747

(m)


466

PART 7| the project

SEGREGATION

discrimination

separation from the other individues

ISOLATION


467

KM 100

poggio terzarmata bridge [metaproject] SEGREGATION The bridge of Poggio Terzarmata is connected to the ex concentration camp and to the First World War open-air museum situated in the Gorizian Carso. The general theme handled at the bridge is ‘the discrimination of certain groups’. Segregation is the practice of restricting people to certain circumscribed areas of residence or to separate institutions and facilities on the basis of race or alleged race. Ratial segregation provides a means of maintaining the economic advantages and superior social status of the politically dominant group (Encyclopedia britannica). There are different reasons that lead to segregation. In this case two are the situations: the first is related to the imprisonment of Slavic people in the concentration camp of Poggio Terzarmata, the second is the life in a hosting camp situated in Austria of the inhabitants during the WW1. Both segregations, even though are different are similar for some aspects: the depriving of personal freedom, life compelled in a certain boundary, change in the daily habits.


468

PART 7| the project


469

KM 100

SEGREGATION || ISOLATION how to give the ‘impression’ of the theme CONCEPT SPLITTER

‘Segregation’ includes the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines (Wikipedia) Segregation/ to segregate: to keep one group of people apart from another and treat them differently especially because of race and sex; to keep one thing separate from another (Cambridge Dictionary)

first grade of segregation: pedestrians and cyclists are forced to use the new bridge whether they want to cross the river. second grade of segregation: a ‘splitter’ divides the passage into two narrow paths so that the individues walk alone, one in each side, separated reference: Segregation Wall (by Noel Jabbour) picture of the Abu Dis wall between Israel and Palestine


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section 1:1500



section 1:1000



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plan 1:100



n

plan 1:100



view 1:100



section 1:100


492

PART 7| the project

view AA 1:100

a

b

a

b

section BB 1:100


493

KM 100






498

PART 7| the project

scheme of the elements


499

KM 100

2

3

1 2

detail

prestressed concrete beam .1 steel frame .2 metal grid .3


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

reinforced concrete steel unequal angle, l profile, 150x160x10mm steel grating, 54x80mm steel unequal angle, l profile, 350x160x15mm elastomeric bridge bearing expansion joint

b

a

b

a

2 1

3

4

1

5

detail bb


1

6

6

1

5

1

detail aa


502

PART 7|the project

TWO LEVELS OF MEMORY

the past as silk factory

the past as imprisonment camp

INTERLACE


503

KM 100

poggio terzarmata ex concentration camp [metaproject] INTERLACE Between the 1941 and 1942 the silk factory based in Sdraussina (today Poggio Terzarmata) was used as a Fascist imprisonment camp. The specific theme handled at the site is ‘the double level of memory: the building known as silk factory and the building known as concentration camp’. At the end of the IXth century the silk factory was built in Sdraussina and it was used till the First World War when it was severely damaged. Later on, during the Fascist period, the parts of the building still standing were used to host the Slavic people against the regime. When all the conflicts finished, the factory was restored and reused till 2007 when it was definitively closed. Nowadays all the buildings of the site are abandoned. The aim of the project is to link the two memories of the site with the use of ordered rows of poles representing the Slavic individues imprisoned, and the use of interwoven strings representing the product of the factory. The interwoven poles are ordered along a stripe of land situated aside the factory that will serve the pedestrians willing to move from the bridge to the Carso park.


504

PART 7|the project


505

KM 100

TWO LEVELS OF MEMORY || INTERLACE how to give the ‘impression’ of the theme CONCEPT #1 ENVISIONING MULTITUDES + TANGLING UP STRINGS assume a group of vertical elements spread on a ground and disposed regularly following a grid these elements represent the people who were imprisoned in the concentration camp

assume a tangle of strings the string is the product produced in the factory

that

was

CONCEPT #2 HIDING/REVEALING

the interlacing of strings and poles generates screens the playing with the transparency and overlapping of these screens hides and reveals significant parts of the background


romans d’isonzo

gradisca d’ison

sagrado

villesse

sacrario

isonz

o/soc

a

san pier d’isonzo

ronchi


nzo poggio terzarmata

san michele del carso ex concentration camp

ia

ven

slo

ita

lia

san martino del carso

di redipuglia

i dei legionari

doberdo’del lago

doberdo’ lake






512

PART 7| the project )

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(t

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fa


513

KM 100

mp

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s

d te

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al

in

o

g ri

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th

ho

th

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ca



n

plan 1:2000



section 1:1000



n

plan 1:200



plan 1:200 n



section 1:200



section 1:200


PART 7| the project

a

section 1:500

a

530


531

KM 100






fossalon


KM 120


540

PART 7| the project

bridge

bridge

fossalon

ex concentration camp


541

KM 120

bridge.............................

fossalon bridge

general theme (bridge).............

forced/spontaneous migrations|adaptation

altitude...........................

3 m (asl)

deviation to.......................

fossalon

specific theme (site)...............

fossalon ex concentration camp

next stop of the itinerary (north)...

poggio terzarmata

next stop of the itinerary (south)...

fossalon

distance...........................

4,3 km

altitude gap.......................

0 m

max altitude.......................

3 m (asl)

fossalon concentration camp

fossalon bridge

(m)

0 0

4,3

(km)


542

PART 7|the project

FORCED/SPONTANEOUS MIGRATIONS

leaving home

new life in a new place

ADAPTATION


543

KM 120

fossalon bridge

[metaproject] F O R C ED / S P O N T A N E OUS MIGRATIONS The bridge of Fossalon is connected to the ex concentration camp situated in the reclaimed territory nearby the city of Grado. The general theme handled at the bridge is ‘the forced and spontaneous migrations’. The theme was choosen because in Fossalon, three different communities coming from Veneto, Istria and Slovenia, cohabited the land. The migrations can be forced (when a certain group is compelled to leave by another group) or spontaneous (when the individues freely choose to leave in search of better conditions), anyway both cases imply the move of residence from one place to another, the change of habit, the adaptment to different location. Often the migrants arrange new communities, adapting their lives to the new environment assimilating the habit of the new place but also trying to continue their own ones.


544

PART 7|the project


545

KM 120

FORCED/SPONTANEOUS MIGRATIONS || ADAPTATION how to give the ‘impression’ of the theme CONCEPT ‘VEGETALIZING’ THE BRIDGE

the idea around the theme of migration is to communicate the ability of the individues to adapt themselves to different locations, even when these are strongly different from their place of origin ‘Vegetalizing’ the bridge means to grow plants, trees, grass on a platform letting them survive/adapt themselves to the new unusual environment



site plan 1:1500

old br idge

new br idge



section 1:1000



n

plan 1:100



n

plan 1:100



view 1:100



section 1:100


568

PART 7| the project

view AA 1:100

section BB 1:100 a

b

a

b


569

KM 120






574

PART 7| the project

scheme of the elements


575

KM 120

6

5 4

3

2

1

detail

reinforced concrete columns reinforced concrete slab precast concrete block waterproof coating soil plants

.1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

bituminous waterproofing, 3mm precast concrete reinforced concrete slab, 200mm reinforced concrete (column) drainage soil

b

a

b

a

6

5 1

2

3

4

detail bb 1:10


6

1

2

3

detail aa 1:10


578

PART 7|the project

IGNORED PRESENCE

neglection and isolation of the slavic community

TOTAL REMOVAL


579

KM 120

fossalon ex concentration camp

[metaproject] TOTAL REMOVAL Fossalon is situated in the proximity of the city of Grado that, at the beginning of the XXth century, was part of the lagoon. The territory was reclaimed and transformed in a vast agricultural land for the sustenance of the nearby population.

The agricultural complex is placed on the street flaked by the Isonzato river. Along the street there are other buildings with the same characteristics, the only thing that is different is the past as concentration camp of one of them.

Several groups of people coming from different places went to inhabit the district and to work the land; at the beginning there were families coming from the Veneto region to work for the reclaim, later the exiled population from Istria came to inhabit the southern part of the district and to cultivate the land.

Given that its past was ignored in the past and it is still ignored in the present, the aim of the project is to hide it completely to the outside with a dense vegetation. Only when the people are in front of the building they can see it.

From 1941 to 1943 one of the farms was used as internment camp for a group of Slovenian oppositors who worked in the agricultural fields. While the Slavic community inhabited the land the rest of the people almost ignored them. The specific theme handled at the site is ‘the ignored presence of the forced-labour camp of Slavic people at the reclaimed territory of Fossalon’.


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IGNORED PRESENCE || TOTAL REMOVAL how to give the ‘impression’ of the theme CONCEPT HIDING TO THE OUTSIDE

assume an object placed among other objects assume an entity that covers it the object is still present but you cannot define it because you do not see its characters you may say that there is no object under the entity and only the entity exists


ex concentration camp

fossalon

city of grado


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PART 7| the project

hiding boundary for the total removal of the compound from the neighbourhood


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the agricultural compounds along the street are very similar to each other the only difference is that one of them was temporarily used as concentration camp


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ex concentration camp

fossalon’s centre


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cona island

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fisher’s village

the itinerary 1:20000



site plan 1:1500



section 1:1000



view 1:250



section 1:250


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section 1:1500


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conclusions

conclusions The 1985 the Schengen agreement signed for the dissolution of the borders between Eastern and Western Europe. In less than 50 years we have experienced a shift from an impenetrable iron curtain to a more free ‘air curtain’ as anyone can move from one Country to the other. Furthermore, the entrance of Slovenia and Hungary in the European Union in 2007 has brought down many ideological and political bias that were pretty strong during the previous decades. Nonetheless, tensions, reciprocal resentments and incomprehensions are still present when dealing with the topic of foibe and Fascist concentration camps. The dialogue between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia began later than other European countries such as Germany, and even inside the single Countries the topics were not spoken loud. As the topics are (unfortunately) strictly considered political issues, a open dialogue often involve controversy. The research done at the beginning of the thesis were not easy to fulfill. The sources were sometimes contradictory and it was difficult to obtain specific information from the municipalities. For this reason, the hope of this project is to stimulate a positive debate, (without ideological/ political implications) with the simple re-activation of the sites. Europe, as a Community, needs to heal the wounds of the past if it wants to protract to the future its ideology.


“[...] traces linked to unpleasant memories represent a patrimony that is difficult to manage, they have the potential to resonate beyond their local context and work toward the construction of a collective identity on a European scale.” Schofield, Johnson

“[...] should sites that will serve to remind people of past troubles be retained or removed? Is it better to confront this materiality, or forget it? The possible action could be the reuse and reappropriation of the heritage as a therapy to overcome the never-healed trauma of difficult heritage.” Postiglione Gennaro

workyourfingers

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