Dario Cottone’s Ribbon Unites Caltanissetta
Under the direction of architect Dario Cottone, the young Italian firm recently won an international competition in the historical center of Caltanissetta, Sicily. Cottone’s project focuses on a red ribbon that aims to link the older historic parts of the 16,000 square meter site with the emerging contemporary areas.
Further project description and more images after the break.
Cottone’s ribbon is not a way to separate the vastly different time periods but rather an attempt to unite the two. The ribbon is a continuous fluid element that runs through the streets, across the facades, and through buildings in the site. The flexibility of vinyl-ester resin and glass fiber reinforcements allows the ribbon to flow through the site organically because the form is not constrained by material qualities.
Seating elements branch off the main ribbon’s path, and yet are visually connected through materiality. The clusters of seating create newly defined areas and the lighting system, known as “Light needles”, is arranged strategically to emphasis specific spaces.
By creating a continuous element to unite the site, Cottone and his team created a way for the old and new to be in constant dialogue, rather than compete with one another. The ribbon connects both and allows their differences to be juxtaposed in a way that is complimentary. New areas do not seem extraneous to the city, but rather a valuable part of the dialogue. Without one part, the other would not be as powerful.
The project was a team effort with the help of Marzia Casamento, Alessandro Fonte and Loredana Mortellaro.
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26 comments »
Great idea and great project!!!
tells so much about italian cities’ relation to contemporary architecture…
Come on peter this is a pseudo artistic at it’s best.Comteporary architects with few or no respect for great architectural tradition and that when given these urban projects they always choose to create these noisy things covered with a rethoric that artistic,new and comtemporary.I would defenitily go for a quieter more respectfull aproach instead of trying to be fun speacially when dealing with existing constructed heritage. I imagine these guys creating skateboard pipes in St pietro square so that the pope and the cardinals could see the manouvres from the vatican’s balcony. Italian architecture as reached the same bottom level as it’s politcs…Berlusconarchitecti
I don’t agree. You think that italy is only history and rome but that’s not all.
It’ s interesting how the red element try to connect with the city. It’s not easy to
design something in an heritage context. And you phrase about politics and architecture..very stupid.
I think that peter’s right..if u think that italy is only heritage and rome or florence you can judge…
The italian urban spaces are at a very low level. I think that this could be a very good try to qualify an heritage space
Opium to respect the history doesn’t mean to remain in the XVII secle
The question is does the city need to be connected?And does it need to be connected in such plain simplistic manner?The city was split in half and by a touch of red plastic brilliancy it is now connected…voilá…and best thing is everyone will notice and will be asking..who did this?If you don’t like the political comparissons i’ll give you a musical one…for me this is like celine dion singing…over the top and I would prefer Patty Smith or Nico.
Maybe the interely city not but spaces not linked or used maybe yes.
I saw Celine singing in front of thousands of people :) and i think that it’s a good way to operate on public spaces..but as you know everyone has different points of view
What was a theme of the competition? The red ribbon is just another piece of urban art… better than average or worse – it’s up to a viewer. I think it’s not very convincing if you have to provide people an explanation that the ribbon role is to unite rather than to divide. It’s not self explanatory and as such it may be controversial… experimental if you will…
The comparison between berlusconi and the italian architecture is simply full of prejudices and has nothing to do with the project itself. What do you really know about italian architecture and italian cities nowadays? What do you know about the city the project is for? Is your knowledge enough to have any constructive critic?
…”I imagine these guys creating skateboard pipes in St pietro square so that the pope and the cardinals could see the manouvres from the vatican’s balcony”…
This is the only thing that has to do with Berlusconi; this is his way to attach everyone, who doesn’t have his opinion.
i wonder just how much this is influenced by:
http://www.contemporist.com/2008/03/27/red-ribbon-in-tanghe-river-park/
Can someone say Bernard Tschumi’s Parc de la Villette??? Albeit consisting of a more organic nature the red screams the comparison. The result is that this project is less interesting.
By the way, i think this project is awful, derivative and a great example of a concept not being fully thought through. it is a typical example of an architect making a big, brash statement rather than a subtle, timeless intervention in the public realm. why are architects worming their way into public realm? they clearly don’t have the lightness of touch required and always seem to favour the “in-your-face” style concepts they use on their buildings.
check this project out, for a much more subtle and in my opinion much more interesting scheme, which links areas of a place together in a way which doesn’t scream at you.
http://www.west8.nl/projects/all/brandgrens/
I agree with giovanni, and about the influence i think that the chinese
is a good project. In italy the interaction between the ribbon
and the city is good
@PARTICK BATEMAN
I see nothing wrong with architects intervening into the public realm just as long as something new is brought to the table in the form of program or new types of social spaces.
This project however seems to be glorified urban furniture. Ultimately more seating and and a visual connection simply doesn’t do much.
@INawe,
i agree, i just rarely see a landscape project by an architect that responds to place. as a landscape architect i have worked with many architects on public realm projects and their outlook and approach seems to be totally different.
it seems to always be about the concept, and never about people.
I’m an architect not a landscape architect but
PARTICK BATEMAN is right. Many architects some of them extremely good designing buildings end up designing very poor badly thought,meaningless urban projects based uppon more or less abstract concepts that are no more than cover for their ignorancy of urbanism, their lack of original solutions and above all their incapability of doing something simple and somewhat anonymous.It seems they have to leave their signature…in this case they’re going leave it blood red…
Opium it seems that the really ignorant is you and all your stupid comments…
I’d like to see some of your works..they should surely shoe how ignorant u are
What on earth was stupid about Opium’s last comment? I’m just curious, that’s all..I thought it was absolutely spot-on.
I’m unsure as to why new buildings are permitted to be built in the first instance if they vary in an aesthetically displeasing fashion to existing architecture. We have a perfect example of this in Brisbane (Australia): the recently constructed Brisbane Square building, which resides opposite the old Treasury (now a casino, worse luck). The building was designed by an architect living in another city, who had no concept of the local cityscape. Consequently, Brisbane Square is a blight on the city’s streetscape and completely overshadows the beautiful old buildings. If someone were to come up with a red ribbon concept, to join the two, I would see it as yet another poorly considered effort to make up for previous poor city planning.
“i wonder just how much this is influenced by: http://www.contemporist.com/2008/03/27/red-ribbon-in-tanghe-river-park/”
I think that one in China suits the surrounds more, because the lushness of the park overcomes the stark quality of the red. And yes, definitely would appear to be influencing this concept.
It also reminds me of an ad we had here in Australia some time ago for Tourism Victoria: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2006/tourism-victoria-get-lost-in-melbourne/
Sorry for multiple posts, but just found this. Here is a photo of Brisbane Square, looking FROM the Treasury building, fyi:
http://www.dentoncorkermarshall.com/projects.aspx?p=0&projectID=845&catID=undefined&f1=all
and here is a photo of what sits opposite it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasury_Building,_Brisbane
They’re both sitting on the river, opposite the art gallery, museum, performing arts complex etc, so none of the buildings which formerly had river views have views of anything really these days.
There is one fantastic development in Brisbane, which I’ve seen recently. Although extremely modern, it incorporates gaps in the building through which you can see historical buildings…quite clever. Although incredibly off-track, so… ;)
ЭТО ЧЕ ЕЩЕ ЗА ДВОЙНИК БЛЯ ЧЕ СОВСЕМ ВСЕ ПОПУТАЛ ЧЕЛИ !?!?!?!?
a very literal action to “connect the old and new by using a ribbon”… a very instinctive idea even can be thought by an architectual student.
i guess you are an architect, and you are now dealing with space.
the critical point is not the concept, but how you do it in an architectual way.
by the way, this magical ribbon connect the old and the new, but spliiting the 2 sides of it
Haha, retrogrades! Most Italian and for that matter European urban spaces were created by different layers of interventions at different specific times… just like this one…
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