Art is in the Square

(ENG.)...and now is 10!

The LdM Institute reached this important goal with the tenth edition of its annual Student Exhibition. This year, due the bad weather conditions, the exhibition was organized indoor, in two amazing LdM locations.

Like the last year, MSa has developed a completely sustainable project, using only the existing material and, when it was necessary, adding just the same tipe of wood and assembly. All the structures are modular, light and very easy to assembly and dismountle and the entire exhibition's elements can be positioned very quickly by few people.

Photo by Simone Stanislai

(ITA) ...e sono 10!

L'Istituto LdM ha raggiunto l'importante traguardo della decima edizione dell'annuale mostra degli studenti della scuola.

A causa delle cattive condizioni meteorologiche, quest'anno la mostra si è svolta al chiuso, tuttavia è stata l'occasione per fa conoscere due meravigliosi spazi della scuola.

Come per l'anno scorso, anche quest'anno l'allestimento è stato sviluppato in maniera completamente sostenibile, in quanto è stato utilizzato solo il materiale esistente aggiungendo, quando necessario, elementi dello stesso tipo e con lo stesso sistema di assemblaggio.

Tutte le strutture sono modulari, leggere e molto facili da assemblare e smontare. L'intero allestimento può essere montato molto velocemente con l'utilizzo di poche persone.

Photo by Simone Stanislai

Space Colonialism | Are we destined to live beyond Earth?

ENG. A new project, too long delayed, is born: the analysis of the relationship between space and terrestrial architecture. What are the projects currently studied and the technologies developed for the next "giant leap for mankind"?

About that is this text talking, passing through materials, techniques and styles of the new Space Colonialism.

"What does the future hold? The human race is destined to colonize new planets and adapt them to its needs? This is what the great writers of the past have imagined.

Isaac Asimov, scientist and author of the famous "Cycle of Foundation", imagined a human civilization that has spread over the millennia, across the Galaxy, settling on thousands of planets ruled by a Galactic Empire with its capital on the planet Trantor.

Trantor has the role of administering and controlling the entire Empire, hosting billion of people, bureaucrats, officials in a totally constructed scene where the entire planet's surface is covered by building's metal.

These human beings of the future have forgotten their origins and the memory of the planet Earth survives only in some ancient legends and fairy tales for children.

If our destiny is really to leave our beloved blue planet and venture into the Cosmos, we have to remember to look back and take a last look at our home, just before it disappears into the depths of Space and Time, forever."

ITA. Finalmente si concretizza un progetto troppo a lungo rimandato: l'analisi del rapporto tra l'architettura spaziale e quella terrestre. Quali sono i progetti attualmente allo studio e le tecnologie sviluppate per il prossimo grande passo per l'Umanità?

E' quello di cui parla il testo, passando in rassegna materiali, tecniche e stili del nuovo Colonialismo Spaziale.

"Cosa ci riserva il futuro? La razza umana è destinata a colonizzare nuovi pianeti e adattarli alle proprie esigenze? E' quello che i grandi scrittori del passato hanno immaginato.

Isaac Asimov, scienziato ed autore nel famoso "Ciclo della Fondazione", immagina una civiltà umana che si è espansa, nei millenni, in tutta la Galassia, insediandosi su migliaia di pianeti governati da un Impero Galattico con capitale sul pianeta Trantor.

Trantor ha lo scopo di amministrare e controllare tutto l'Impero, ospitando miliardi di persone, burocrati, funzionari in uno scenario totalmente costruito dove l'intera superficie del pianeta è ricoperta dal metallo degli edifici. Questi esseri umani del futuro hanno dimenticato le loro origini e il ricordo del pianeta Terra sopravvive solo in alcune antiche leggende e favole per bambini.

Se il nostro destino è davvero quello di abbandonare il nostro amato pianeta blu ed avventurarci nel cosmo, ricordiamoci di guardare indietro e dare un ultimo sguardo a casa un attimo prima che scompaia nelle profondità dello Spazio e del tempo, per sempre."

Biomimicry, an inspiration for architects, designers and artists.

On 4th of May, we took an interesting lecture on Biomimicry and the possible inspiration for architects, designers and artists, in LdM Institute, Florence. Our welcome guest was Carlo Santulli, professor of "Materials, Science and Technology" at University of Camerino. He spokes about the importance to become more aware about natural processes and structures and how the use of this knowledge may be possible in art and design.

Here is a brief presentation of the lecture:

"If we read the first book of Janine Benyus, the founder of the Biomimicry science, we can easily understand how amazing the capacity of Nature is and how little we know about it. But with the new awareness of the last 20 years, we are becoming more sensitive and respectful towards our environment, because we are getting to know it better.

Watching carefully, we discovered that Nature runs its processes at room temperature, with normal pressure, using water like solvent and all this is done without producing any waste. We are very far to do something similar, still tied to the dear-old “heat, beat ant treat” method. When we want to produce something we introduce a lot of heat and pressure in the system and usually, produce toxic substances like by-product.

When we have a problem, it doesn't matter if it is a structural or biological one, for sure Nature has already solved it, because it has a very long experience: 3,8 billion of years of attemps and refinement in design and adaptation. Now we are starting to study and, in some cases, understand some natural processes and the lens of Biomimicry is helping us in this venture.

One of the most famous biomimetic invention was the airplane. The Wright brothers, inspired from the quiet flight of vultures, finally succeeded in their first historic flight in 1903. In 1914 we were dropping bombs from the sky. Nature has solutions, but we have a lot to learn."

And here is the lecture's video by LdM News Channel.

Carlo Santulli is professor of "Materials, science and technology" in the School of Architecture and Design of the University of Camerino and a material scientist.

He has a strong interest in sustainable materials and biomimetics and among several publications and papers, he is the author of the book “Biomimetic, the lesson of the nature”, which is one of the few publication about this theme in Italy where, we have to say, Biomimicry is not really know.