F O REW O RD
(Ex) posing ground Reconnoitring [sub]surface narratives OANA Gavris s1871986
AlexandER ronse s1228395
NAOMI wright s1888292
M.Arch (Modular Pathway) 2019/20 Edinburgh School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture (ESALA) The University of Edinburgh Studio City Fragments: Neapolitan Porosities Tutors Chris French Maria Mitsoula
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co nt e nt s
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Synopsis
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Glossary of Grounds
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(Ex)Posing (Sub)Surface Narratives
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3 Anchors
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Area of Study: Pallonetto
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Geological Ground Displaced Ground Excavated Ground Manufactured Ground Effaced Ground Mythological ground Prospective Ground
[EX]posing ground | 3
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sy nop sis
Naples shakes, tremors, sinks. Chambers beneath Vesuvius swell and empty, uplifting ground and causing subsidence. The Campi Flegrei rose 3.5m between 1968 and 1984.1 Earthquake swarms shake the city, reminding Neapolitans of the threat of eruption. To build in Naples is to inhabit precarious ground. [Ex]Posing Ground: Reconnoitring [Sub]Surface Narratives surveys an urban territory that is cut, etched and formed by these shifting grounds. The Monte Echia ridge transects central Naples, carrying military and civic institutions on a precipitous topography rising from the peninsula of Castel dell’Ovo, through Caserma Nino Bixio on the tip of Pallonetto, and summiting at Castel Sant’Elmo, from where Walter Benjamin once looked down on Naples. These institutions act as datums against which one might anchor oneself within this fluctuating landscape. [Ex]Posing Ground: Reconnoitring [Sub]Surface Narratives investigates methods by which architecture might adapt to these precarious tectonic conditions, forming new gauges through which seven distinct grounds begin to emerge: Geological, Displaced, Manufactured, Excavated, Mythological, Effaced and the Prospective. Two architectural anchors occupy these seven grounds. Sedimenting Myth makes incisions in
and extensions of (Prospective) ground to create a theatrical journey through historic Neapolitan grounds. Exposing the subsurface narratives of the Cavern of Mithra, a Theatre and Rehearsal Space link mythological and excavated ground conditions to create performance spaces suspended between the city as lived (Manufactured), as lost and as remembered (Mythologised). Archiving & Unearthing Pallonetto reconnoitres the military heritage of the disintegrating cliff of Monte Echia, reinstating an archive lost in a previous landslide (Effaced). Through a suspended archive of drawings and charts, it proposes an architecture of folds (Displaced) above the fragile terrain below, anchoring itself to the derelict (Manufactured) ground of Monte Echia. Both interventions are vertical assemblages of the city, linking Monte Echia with Santa Lucia below.
ResearchItaly.’’ Ground movement in the area of the Campi Flegrei is due to water and gas: the new model presented by INGV researchers’’, accessed 20 April 2020, https://www.researchitaly.it/en/ success-stories/ground-movement-in-the-area-ofthe-campi-flegrei-is-due-to-water-and-gas-thenew-model-presented-by-ingv-researchers/ 1
[EX]posing ground | 5
g l o ssary of groun d s
Geological (adjective) 1. relating to geology, or to the geology of a particular area or place: a geological survey/map or the complex geological structure of the region 2. It relates to the multi-layered structure built up from different types of soils. It accommodates for the movements of geological formations of the ground. This ground is represented in Orange. Displaced (adjective) 1. having been forced out of its usual or original position 2. Related to the precarious state of the ground. It describes the condition of ground which has either moved as a consequence of volcanic activity or as a consequence of excavations which destabilized the terrain. This ground is represented in Green.
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Manufactured
Mythological
Prospective
(adjective) 1. Produced on a large scale using machinery 2. (of something abstract) made or produced in a merely mechanical way
(adjective) 1. Of or relating to mythology. Imaginary; fictitious.
(adjective) 1. of or in the future. potential, likely, or expected.
2. Describes the intangible ground, which is built up from stories and narratives.
2. It describes a type of ground which establishes itself as a new situated response to a contemporary condition.
3. Describing any man- or machine-made interventions or additions to the ground. This ground is represented in Grey.
This ground is represented in White.
This ground is represented in Black.
Effaced
Excavated (from the verb to excavate): 1. to dig a hole or channel in the ground, especially with a machine 2. to remove earth that is covering very old objects buried in the ground in order to discover things about the past 3. (adjective): Describing a type of ground. It defines ground which is subtracted from a whole with the purpose of unearthing items or making room for new ones.
(adjective) 1. From the verb to efface: to wipe out; do away with; expunge. 2. (adjective): Related to a ground which used to exist, but has been removed or lost. This ground is represented in Dark Grey.
This ground is represented in Copper.
[EX]posing ground | 7
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION
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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION
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(Ex)Posing (Sub)surface Narratives Not to scale (originally drawn at 1:15000)
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION
intensity of activity is expressed naturally by an intensity of contour lines
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION
Data source: I.Alberico, P. Petrosino, and L. Lirer, Fig. 5. Conditional volcanic hazard map of Napoli city. In Alberico, I. , P. Petrosino, and L. Lirer, ‘’Volcanic hazard and risk assessment in a multi-source volcanic area: the example of Napoli city (Southern Italy)’’. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 11 (2011):1057–1070.
[EX]posing ground | 11
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION
+0.3
+0.1
+0.4
+0.5
Rising Ground Expressed in cm/month
+0.2
[EX]posing ground | 13
-0.1
Sinking Ground Expressed in cm/month
-0.5
-0.3
[EX]posing ground | 15
Land Slides
[EX]posing ground | 17
Streetscape
[EX]posing ground | 19
3 Anchor points were chosen in this matrix of grounds: Castel Sant’Elmo, Caserma Nino Bixio and Castel dell’Ovo. The ridge which connects these crosses the Pallonetto area, dividing it in a eastern and western half. Pallonetto was selected as a site of study, representing an area of extreme topographic conditions, making it the ideal testbed for architectural interventions which aim to expose the Neapolitan ground.
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+76.000 • Archivo di Stato - sezione militare (roof)
+64.800 • Roof Plan
+59.000 • Ruins (top) +57.000 • Retaining Wall +55.000 • Via Egiziaca a pizzofalcon
+52.600 • Mezzanine
+ 52.000 • Monte Echia (cliff edge)
+54.000 • The Gate-house +53.000 • The Winch-house + 50.000 • The Watchtowers +48.000 • Vaults
+47.500 • Ground Floor +45.500 • Stage/orchestra Via Monte Di Dio +43.200 •
+40.000 • Ruins (base) +39.000 • Vicolo del Palonetto
+39.000 • Ramp & Writers +34.000 • Santa maria della catena (roof)
+30.000• Tech Cave
+21.000 • Tech Mezzanine +23.000 • The winch-house (base)
+17.600 • High Ramp/Roof +18.000 • Vicolo del Palonetto
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+16.600 • Above ground
+15.000 • The boathouse
+15.800 • Ticket Office +11.100 • Cavern Ground +8.000 • Stage Ground Via Domenico Morelli +4.800
3 Anchors Plan Not to scale (originally drawn at 1:2000)
+4.800 • Urban Gesture
+6.000 • Via Serapide
+2.600 • Castel Dell’Ovo
+2.600 • Castel Dell’Ovo
+0.000 • Sea Level
+0.000 • Sea Level
[EX]posing ground | 21
Castel dell’Ovo
Caserma Nino Bixio
Castel Sant’Elmo
Pal lon e t t o
[geological ground]
The Geological Ground accommodates for the movements of geological formations of the ground and stone the city is made from. The defining geological characteristic of the area is the presence of volcanic conditions, with the Vesuvius to the East (visible from many vantage points in the city), and the Phlegraean Fields to the West. The abundance of volcanic terrain puts the entire area under geological instability. Bradyseism2 describes these shiftings of the ground: the average speed is 2-3 cm per year, but one of the largest recorded movements was the rise of the ground at Pozzuoli harbour (near the Campi Flegrei) by 3.5m between 1969 and 1985.3 The Geological Ground is a constant reminder of the duality of the volcanic activity: the emergence of the very fertile volcanic soil, and, at the same time, the awareness of the state of unrest and possible destruction. In terms of soil types, the area is characterized by the predominance of tufo stone made from compressed volcanic ash. Other ground types in the
area can also be exploited as building materials (for example, trachytes: Campi Flegrei lava products exploited at Cava Regia).4
Phys.Org, ‘’Gas causing ground to rise near Bay of Naples volcano’’, accessed 12 April 2020, https://phys. org/news/2016-07-gas-ground-baynaples-volcano.html 3 ResearchItaly.’’ Ground movement in the area of the Campi Flegrei is due to water and gas: the new model presented by INGV researchers’’, accessed 9 April 2020, https://www. researchitaly.it/en/success-stories/ ground-movement-in-the-area-of-thecampi-flegrei-is-due-to-water-and-gasthe-new-model-presented-by-ingvresearchers/ 3 Alessio Langella et al, ‘’Lava stones from Neapolitan volcanic districts in the architecture of Campania region, Italy’’, Environmental Earth Sciences 59, no. 145 (2009): 145-60. 2
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View of Vesuvius. A constant reminder of the Geological Ground.
figures 2-14// 28 |
Understanding the Geological Ground
[EX]posing ground | 29
figure 15// The crumbling tufo of Mt. Echia
figure 16// Ground Displacement observed internally
[Displaced Ground]
figure 17// Sinkhole in Naples
The Displaced Ground encompasses shiftings and movements of the ground. This can be either a product of the volcanic activity which forces the ground to rise and fall, or a consequence of the many excavations which destabilized the terrain. In Pallonetto specifically, 2 different types of ground movement were documented either side of the ridge formed by Via Monte Di Dio: large soil movement to the West, and small soil movement to the East.5 The excavation of tufo stone from the geological ground with the purpose of using it as building material resulted in a precarious ground condition. The
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presence of these cavities underneath the city (aided by the improper water and sewage drainage systems) caused sinkholes to appear throughout the city: 190 anthropogenic sinkholes occurred between 1915 and 2010.6
Jeff Matthews, ‘’Underground Naples Portal’’, Naples: Life, Death and Miracles. Accessed 23 April 2020, http://www.naplesldm.com/ portalunder.php 6 Paolo M. Guarino and Stefania Nisio, ‘’Anthropogenic sinkholes in the territory of the city of Naples (Southern Italy)’’, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 49, no.1(2012): 92-102. 5
(Image from: N.Basso et al., ‘’ Fig. 15 – Settembre 1979: sinkhole’’. In N.Basso et al., ‘’ Susceptibility to anthropogenic sinkholes in the Naples district’’, Memorie Descrittive della Carta geologica d’Italia 93, no.1(2013): 73-104.
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figure 18// One of the largest excavated portions of the Bourbon tunnel Image from: Galleria Borbonica, ‘’Standard Tour’’, accessed 23 April 2020, https://www. ga l l e r i ab o r b o n i c a . c o m / en/gallery/Standard%20 Tour/?i=G1
[Excavated Ground]
Neapolitans use the expression ‘the other city’ to refer to the excavated ground of Pallonetto, which comprises 700 quarries and many miles of ancient underground passageways, including the Bourbon tunnel and the cavern of Mithra. The ”Napoli Sotterranea” association claimed in 2007 that there are 1600 cavities under the city.7
less densely packed strata of pyroclastic material; the sides and ceiling are more likely to cave in, so these constitute the main danger spots that workers focused their attention on fixing.8
Carlo Gerundo, Valerio Di Pinto and Vincenzo Stefano. Naples and its parallel city, in Think Deep: Planning, development and use of underground space in cities, ed. Han Admiraal, Shipra Narang Suri (Netherlands: Drukkerij Aktief, Pijnacker, 2015): 37. 8 Jeff Matthews, ‘’Secret Tunnels’’, Naples: Life, Death and Miracles. Accessed 23 April 2020, http://www. naplesldm.com/Bourbtunnel.php 7
The Bourbon tunnel lies under Mt. Echia. The Bourbon tunnel was originally built for military purposes, but later served as a shelter during the Second World War. It cuts through different soil types, with larger rooms excavated out of tuff alternating with narrower openings excavated out of
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[Manufactured Ground]
[Effaced Ground]
Human interventions have also shaped the city, creating what can be termed manufactured or imposed ground: manmade structures imposed on the natural topography of the area.
A sense of instability marks the ground of Pallonetto. In 1862, a landslide caused the loss of a pavilion of the Nino Bixio military garrisons, located at the top of Mt Echia.10 A significant change in Pallonetto was also its expansion and the loss of the old coastline over time. New developments were added to the sides of Mt. Echia, pushing the old coastline of Parthenope (the original name of the settlement) further out at sea.11
Some of these interventions constituted necessary additions, such as the reinforcement of the cliff edge of Mount Echia by superimposing ramps on the terrain, which work as both ground and buildings. The juncture between manufactured impositions to the ground and the existing geological condition is manifested in rampe di Pizzofalcone, which links the top and base of Mt. Echia. This perfectly exemplifies what Walter Benjamin noted: “What, elsewhere, is invariably forgotten and overlooked in Naples remains strikingly evident. Every city involves a pact, a settlement, between human occupation and the physical site in which it is located.”9
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Walter Benjamin, ‘’Naples: A Porous Modernity’’, in Mediterranean Crossings: The Politics of an Interrupted Modernity, ed. Iain Chambers (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2008): 86 10 Pizzofalcone.it, ‘’ I movimenti sotto-sopra del pizzo ‘’. Accessed 15 April 2020, https://www. pizzofalcone.it/2016/04/10/i-movimenti-sottosopra-del-pizzo/ 11 Vittoria Carsana et al. ‘’Evoluzione del paesaggio costiero tra Parthenope e Neapolis’’, Méditerranée 112, no.1(2009): 14-22. 9
figure 19// A Manufactured intervention at Castel Sant’Elmo. Viewpoint overlooking the city.
figure 20// The edge of Mt Echia visible between the new developments which have pushed out the coastline. Rampe di Pizzofalcone can be seen through the street opening.
[Mythological Ground]
Events and episodes in the city’s history have been perceived and narrated through a mythological lens as well. The mythological narrative to which Castel dell’Ovo (the Egg Castle) owes its name particularly highlights the precariousness of the Neapolitan ground. The tale claims an egg capable of protecting the city and its inhabitants from disaster was hidden in the foundations of the castle. It it were to break, it would cause the entire city to collapse.12
A - Phlegraean Fields B - Isle of Nisida C - Virgil’s Tomb D - Ghosts of Castel Sant’Elmo E - Castel dell’Ovo F - Crocodile in Maschio Angioino G - The Witch of Vesuvius H - The Monaciello monk I - The Cavern of Mithra
(for detailed mythological narratives, refer to Code Book: Deciphering Porosities)
Napolike.it, ‘’ Myths and legends of Naples: ghosts, mysteries and superstitions’’, accessed 14 November 2019, https://www.napolike.com/mitie-leggende-di-napoli . 12
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Castel dell’Ovo seen from the Bay of Naples
Section through the 3 Anchor Points, following Via Monte Di Dio
[Prospective Ground]
In understanding the interdependence between place and topography or site and ground, architectural pieces begin to emerge as articulated responses to topographic and cultural conditions. (Ex)Posing Ground’s Prospective Ground is developed into 2 design schemes: Sedimenting Myth in the Cavern of Mithra and Archiving & Unearthing Pallonetto.
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