Today Europe's medicines regulator approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Coronavirus. This means that in the next few days vaccination programmes will start across European countries such as Germany, France, Austria and Italy. We don't know yet the schedule for the inoculation programmes, but probably healthcare workers, medical staff and residents of homes for the elderly will be the first to take it. In the meantime, Italy has also been working on the locations where people will be vaccinated.
Architecture and design lent a hand: while in March, while Italy was experiencing the worst crisis since the Second World War and its national healthcare system risked a collapse, some architects worked on projects for emergency purposes such as Carlo Ratti's CURA, shipping containers transformed into plug-in Intensive-Care Units (ICU) for COVID-19 patients.
The priority now is containing the virus as vaccines start arriving and guaranteeing spaces where people can get vaccinated. A few days ago, Domenico Arcuri, Special Commissioner for the COVID-19 emergency, announced there will be 300 distribution sites in Italy, that will then rise to 1,500 once the vaccination campaign is at its peak. These sites will be the symbols of a rebirth and they will be designed by Italian architect Stefano Boeri.
The mini-pavilions designated for vaccine distribution will indeed have the shape of a flower, a primrose, inspired by artists and writers such as Andrea del Verrocchio (remember his "Lady with primroses" sculpture portraying a lady clutching a bouquet of flowers to her chest?) and Pier Paolo Pasolini, a positive message that should also look reassuring to those people who may be skeptical or scared about vaccines.
The round shaped structures will be located in squares all over Italy, in front of hospitals and in sports facilities such as stadiums. Sustainability is one of the principles behind the pavilion as Boeri is passionate about combining urban living and nature (he designed Milan's famous Vertical Forest skyscraper).
The flower-shaped pavilions are designed to be easily assembled and dismantled, thanks to their modular light structures mounted on a pre-fabricated wooden platform and made with basic materials such as wood and textiles.
The latter will be water repellent, recyclable and biodegradables; the covering will also include a system of solar panels to produce the required electricity to power the pavilion.
The modular structures will feature areas where people will be vaccinated and where they can wait before and after taking the vaccine. The centre of the flower structure will instead be dedicated to the staff with an office, storage area, changing rooms and toilets.
For what regards costs, Arcuri stated they hope businesses and entrepreneurs will donate the materials (it would be interesting if some fashion houses and powerful brands would do so to set an example...). So there may be light at the end of the tunnel, and the primroses may turn into a sign of spring in winter, of serenity and rebirth at the end of a very dark year.
Architecture-wise let's hope that, once the Coronavirus emergency is over (may that be as soon as possible), architecture festivals like the Venice Biennale will develop sections and awards dedicated to emergency projects (to tackle issues such as climate change, pandemics, earthquakes and so on) as this is a key area that must definitely be explored more with fast and scalable solutions such as these temporary pavilions that may bring a permanent solution.
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