Even though we know that the nature of human life is transitory, we tend to give for granted a lot of things - from our lives to the spaces we inhabit.
Yet deep down we perfectly know that it can take less than a minute to see our routines being radically changed by something unexpected and sudden: for example a major disaster like an earthquake can cause death, loss and destruction in the matter of a few seconds, but so can other types of catastrophes and accidents that we can't foresee, prevent or we don't try to avoid till it is too late (think about the collapse in summer of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa that may have been avoided if maintenance works had been carried out on it).
Rebuilding after such disasters is a psychological and physical process, points that are perfectly highlighted in the exhibition "Ricostruzioni. Architettura, città e paesaggio nell’epoca delle distruzioni" (Reconstructions. Architecture, Cities and Landscapes in Times of Destruction; until 10th February 2019) currently on at Milan's La Triennale.
In our times the reasons behind loss and destruction vary - from terrorism and earthquakes to environmental disasters, without forgetting the ordinary urban decline our cities go through on a regular basis.
"Reconstructions" offers the chance to go through a series of stories and experiences while taking into consideration a list of successful or disastrous reconstruction projects, to ponder in a critical way about post-catastrophe decisions and solutions.
Rebuilding is a delicate stage: residents often have to face a lot of bureaucracy, while governments complain about the lack of proper funding, while there are other key issues to take into account of during such processes, as building houses or public infrastructures such as roads, bridges or hospitals, also means to plan the future of a city and of its inhabitants, eliminating those weaknesses that caused destruction.
So, in case of buildings damaged by earthquakes, the possibilities offered by innovative anti-seismic building systems will have to be taken into consideration.
The event articulates through documents, images and drawings, maps and paintings, all taken from different times and places. There is a path through several traumatic disasters occurred in Italy, from bombed cities in the Second World War to the landslide of the Vajont Dam, earthquakes in Irpinia, Umbria and Abruzzo, but there are obviously also international cases, focusing on Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Macedonia, Portugal, Chile and Japan.
Syria gets particular attention and visitors are invited to look at the ruins of Palmira through Hofstede van Essen's 1693 painting, and make a comparison with the tragedy of the current war, the devastation the country is lying in and the solutions suggested by architectural students to rebuild houses for civlians.
Quite a few sections in the event are dedicated to projects by architects that respond not just to a catastrophe, but also to the specific needs of the population, such as the half house - low-income housing that are only half completed (the other half can be done by the residents on their own) designed by Alejandro Aravena's practice Elemental.
The way certain architects worked on local projects also inspires one of the most interesting sections of the event that looks at rebuilding using local materials, especially stones and bricks.
The exhibition could also be interpreted as a visual journey that may prove of interest to photojournalism students. One image is particularly striking: it shows a bride walking along the aisle of a church, a young girl carrying her train, and relatives and friends standing to admire her.
Yet when your attention moves from the bride to the surrounding area, you realise there is only a section of the church still standing, while a large portion of the roof seems to have been ripped away by the hand of a cruel giant. This is actually the Basilica di Collemaggio in L'Aquila, after the 2009 earthquake destroyed large areas of the town and of surrounding villages, killing 308 people.
The pieces are exhibited among a set created using industrial materials such as concrete and metal elements or wood boxes and pallets painted in bright shades of yellow.
As you may guess the exhibition is a work in progress and doesn't have a proper conclusion as some of the cases and situations presented are left unsolved, especially in Italy, and quite a few reconstruction projects highlighted in the exhibition are still ongoing.
In a way the event is particularly spot on when you look at the news: in the last few days the Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio also known as Church of the Anime Sante or Blessed Souls, reopened in L'Aquila after a restoration project partially founded by France.
Extensively damaged during the 2009 earthquake, the church was reconstructed with its famous neoclassical dome designed in the 1800s by Giuseppe Valadier, proving that architectural studies, researches and proper funding can bring back historical landmarks to their splendour and can turn them into moving memorials for the victims of a disaster and their families.
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