vudafieri saverino partners: reflective natural

‘reflective natural’ by vudafieri saverino partners all images courtesy vudafieri saverino partners

‘reflective natural’ is a project by italian architects vudafieri saverino partners currently on display at the venice architecture biennale.

‘reflective natural’, natural reflection and natural reflected, delves into cultural simulation, the ambivalence of the human milieu considered as an objective architectural space and equally an intimate subjective space. it is the outcome of a conceptual notion that envisages architecture as ‘hyper-nature’.

comprised of five reflecting surfaces constructed like a house of cards, the exterior structure reflects surrounding nature, while the interiors are covered with climbing plants. in this way the space is enclosed but its boundaries are undefined, its geometries distorted, and sun and water can enter here. within, the floor appears as a meadow, reflecting on the walls and ceiling. outside, the walls become extensions of the sky.

thus the artificial space is inverted: while nature invades the inner space of the psyche, which is personal and private, the conceptual and mimetic external space loses its architectural solidity and fades away into light and immaterial landscape.

in some measure the project upends the traditional antagonism between the natural and the artificial, between nature and architecture. the ‘interior vegetation’ will grow and overrun the walls, while the architecture will be subject to cyclical changes, as the days and seasons pass, retrieving an ancient approach for capturing living space.

these reflections are made a reality through the partnership of il bisonte, an italian brand of small leather goods. the sophisticated simplicity of this ‘contemporary dolmen’, its intimate involvement with its surroundings, its lithe, spirited interaction with humanity and nature, are in perfect unison with brand’s fundamental values. as an icon of this shared vision stands the seating bench designed by tiziano vudafieri and claudio saverino with saporiti italia.

a tale of the accord that exists between human life and the habitat where it is welcomed, made possible by taking as appropriate and by a prudent elaboration of nature’s resources, experienced as an intimate complicity with the cycles and mutations of time.

the stools within the structure

project info: project: vudafieri saverino partners, tiziano vudafieri and claudio saverino sponsor: il bisonte supplier: bianchi fratelli, saporiti italia green design: alessandro nasti structural design: paolo giustini