When nature meets art: Beppe Marchi's vision
In the beating heart of Ferrara, architect Beppe Marchi leads us on a journey to discover a landscape that transforms into a laboratory of nature and innovation. With a careful eye and deep sensitivity, Marchi revisits the relationship between the built and the environment, exploring sustainable solutions that respect local history. In this interview, the designer tells us about the challenges and opportunities that emerge from the interaction between modern technologies and nature. A passionate story that invites us to reflect on the future of design and our coexistence with the territory. A sincere dialogue that opens new concrete perspectives on the relationship between man and the environment.
Modern Landscape Design: What are the distinctive features of modern landscape design and how do they integrate with current environmental and social needs?
“I am not convinced that we can speak of modern landscape design in absolute terms: as happens with architectural projects, it is the context in which each project is inserted that guides its suggestions, characteristics, potential, even arriving, in some cases, to characterize aspects linked to formal expression - although declined according to the sensitivity of the moment. I believe that social needs, and even more so environmental needs in projects linked to landscape, must dictate design: I believe that the modernity of a project lies more in this type of sensitivity and methodological approach than in formal choices aimed at leaving the designer's mark.”
Technologies and sensitive design: How can the use of innovative technologies improve sensitive landscape design and what concrete examples can you share of projects where this synergy has been successful?
“In an era of great speed in terms of technological innovation, the issue of the use of technology to support landscape design becomes more delicate than ever, the cultural foundation of which must remain, in my opinion, firm and unshakeable: respect for nature – 'The garden is the laboratory of a man-nature relationship where the gardener, after having studied it, collaborates with the “power of invention of nature” (…) The ideal would be to be able to obtain what you want only by inflecting the game of interaction between natural elements. A question of observing, knowing, and only then acting.' (Gilles Clément, Manifesto of the Third Landscape).
I report a concrete experience faced in a very delicate site, of connection between the city dock and the ancient urban walls of the city of Ferrara, in which different innovative technologies have been able to converge in a unitary project with the maximum respect for the natural and environmental conditions.
Every design choice for the redevelopment of the “ex-Camilli” area of Ferrara was dictated by the context, particularly problematic from an environmental point of view, due to the presence on site of a point of storage and sale of petroleum products until the year 2000, with consequent traces of hydrocarbons in the aquifer, already subject to two remediation interventions by the Administration, consisting of a superficial capping of clay over the entire surface of the lot and the injection of oxygen into the aquifer through piezometers positioned in the most compromised areas.
All the historical background and the characteristics of the land have fundamentally determined the design choices for the redevelopment of the area, which represents a green corridor connecting the historic city and the river: innovative design solutions have been adopted in terms of phytoremediation, using the most suitable tree species for this purpose, and the green spaces have been articulated through the use of altimetric variations and humps.
The area, conceived as a green infrastructure used only for transit and not for parking and/or carrying out permanent activities, has taken on the role of attenuating thermal extremes and air, water and soil pollution, thus capable of helping to achieve "urban well-being".
The cycle/pedestrian path, the main element of the project which longitudinally marks the entire lot, with a sinuous north-south direction, accommodating the interferences represented by the presence of piezometers for the reclamation of the area, was built in Solid Earth, guaranteeing at the same time excellent resistance to cycle traffic, a perfectly draining surface and natural impact.
An alternative pedestrian path in the greenery (“dog path”) has also been created, which allows for a slower crossing, marked by the rhythm of the individual design choices (shaded islands, paths between the humps, islands of perennial herbaceous plants).
The common matrix of the two paths – and in general of the entire “design concept” – is based on a natural impact: the permeability, the choice of materials and the very shape of the paths, the ways of use and the abundance and variety of vegetation have as a cultural and perceptive reference an idea of an urban park, rather than a space of built architecture or in any case avowedly designed.”
Eco-friendly Roads and Pavements: What is the importance of eco-friendly pavements in urban landscape design and what materials or techniques are you seeing emerging in this field?
“The theme of the 'environmental footprint' is certainly a priority in the choice of building materials, especially with regard to the materials that constitute landscape design. A common and widespread awareness has now been acquired that leads to the choice of systems with good performance in terms of environmental sustainability.
Specifically, when it comes to flooring, it is important to evaluate not only a life cycle analysis of the materials, but also the impact that new surfaces have on the context in which they are to be laid, both in terms of visual perception and the environment and permeability.
In this period of great changes due to climate change, water management is an absolutely priority issue for conscious planning: it is necessary to guarantee as much as possible the drainage and absorption of rainwater, even more so in interventions carried out within urban centers, often already strongly compromised by policies of concreting and waterproofing of the soil repeated over the years, whose disastrous effects are becoming increasingly frequent and evident.”
Climate change and enlightened design: How can we design a landscape that works as an “antibody” against the effects of climate change, and what strategies are you implementing to ensure soil sustainability?
"The challenge is played on the thin line of balance between nature and man, who today can make use of increasingly refined technologies to bend the project to his intentions. At the same time, man must have the humility and foresight to take a step back, recognizing nature's role as the main actor in the definition of every landscape project. Today more than ever, the centrality of man within the design process must be aimed at observing and supporting nature: following the dictates of "bio-inspired design" and research developed in the field of "biomimicry", so popular in recent years, every form of design can be conducted considering natural selection as a sort of "millennial research and development laboratory" with which Nature has, over the course of thousands of years, progressively refined solutions to its needs, developing solutions that we can observe, study and exploit/re-propose today.
Simply put, every enlightened design must be oriented towards the maximum reduction of impermeable surfaces, towards the increase of green areas by choosing the essences that from time to time can be more suitable for the specific context and the peculiar environmental characteristics.
The same applies to the formal outcome of the landscape project, which must adapt to the site in which it is inserted, freeing itself from the designer's self-referential intentions.”
Aesthetic Valorization between Nature and History: How do you manage to combine the aesthetics of the landscape with the valorization of local history and culture, and what challenges did you encounter in this integration process?
“As already clarified, I do not believe that there is a 'landscape aesthetic' regardless of the cultural, historical and environmental values that each site subject to intervention brings with it.
In the specific case of the project presented, once the natural aspects of the site had been given voice again through the demolition of buildings, parking areas and asphalt surfaces existing on the project area, the choices concerning the urban greenery were guided by elements linked to the stratigraphy of the land and the surrounding urban landscape, built according to the logic of the first suburbs of the second half of the twentieth century.
Therefore, if on the one hand rows of tall trees (Carpinus betulus fastigata) were designed to screen the surrounding buildings, inside the park species were chosen that could contribute to the ongoing hydrocarbon remediation plan, in terms of phytoremediation (mainly willows, poplars).
Given the presence of clay capping (impermeable) in the stratigraphy of the soil, we thought about creating humps that would allow the trees to take root in permeable soil in the first years of life.
In the areas most affected by the presence of hydrocarbons in the aquifer and monitored by piezometers, flowerbeds of perennial herbaceous plants were created, aimed at protecting the reclamation plant, reducing maintenance, implementing the phytoremediation process (Miscanthus, Muhlenbergia capillaris, Elsholtzia mint, Perowskia,…) and distributed in such a way that the progressive flowering marked the flow of the seasons.
The very nature of the site suggested the design lines: shaded areas, permeability, water management and phytoremediation are the backbone of the entire process, up to the definition of the overall design and specific formal solutions.
“I didn’t want to change the garden every time. I didn’t want to replace the plants every season. I wanted to create gardens that could stay and change by themselves” (Piet Oudolf).
The Heart of the Landscape
This interview offered an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities that characterize modern landscape design. Architect Beppe Marchi passionately illustrated the importance of a sensitive approach, in which technology and nature integrate to create spaces that respect territorial identity. The innovative solutions presented demonstrate how the dialogue between man and the environment can lead to sustainable and harmonious results. This path of reflection stimulates designers to reconsider the role of nature in defining urban spaces, inspiring new models for the future of landscape design. A vision that renews environmental commitment.
