Présentation de l'éditeur :
Never has the relationship between art and nature been more complicated
and more fragile, but also richer and more fascinating.
The artists and
architects in Natural Architecture
have transformed the act of building into an art form capable of
sparking new relationships with nature, landscape, and the environment.
Though far from basic or primitive, these creations are built from
humble elements—branches, twigs, pebbles, straw, stone—found at their
site.
Fulfilling a wide variety of intentions—sometimes structural,
sometimes sculptural, sometimes sacred—the works presented here inspire
a sense of awe and reverence for the forces of nature.
From a bridge in
Tibet connecting an orphanage and a nearby village, to a hut fit for
mythical creatures, to a pavilion in Iceland with a roof made of water
perpetually frozen in an exuberant shape, each project resonates with a
sense of purpose and innate beauty.
Natural Architecture
presents sixty-six site-specific installations that use raw materials,
manual labor, and natural stimuli to create truly green architecture
that is as organic as the materials with which it is created.
Projects
by Olafur Eliasson, Patrick Dougherty, Nils-Udo, Ex. Studio, Edward Ng,
nArchitects, and many others are shown together for the first time.
Selected for their commitment to the use of raw materials, manual
labor, and natural inspiration, these works are vividly displayed in
photographs, drawings, and models. These fantastical creations allow
the changing landscape to naturally overtake each structure until it
finally decomposes. Each project is accompanied by a series of
photographs, drawings, and models. The rugged and surreal beauty of the
projects in Natural Architecture.
Alessandro
Rocca is an architect and architecture critic and a professor at the
Milan Polytechnic. He has published extensively, including many
articles for the magazines "Lotus" and "Navigator," on whose editorial
staff he was for many years. question the wisdom of our
ever accelerating construction processes and point a way forward,
toward a new organic simplicity of structure and form.