Renewal of Isola Pepe Verde playground Milan, IPV Design Contest Italy

Renewal of Isola Pepe Verde’s playground, Milan

Contemporary Garden + Public Realm Lombardy: Italian Design Contest News

24 Aug 2018

Renewal of Isola Pepe Verde’s playground in Milan

Location: IPV, Via Guglielmo Pepe, Milano, Italy

‘Sprouting Minds’

Open Call for Renewal of Isola Pepe Verde’s playground, Milan

1 Introduction

Isola pepe verde and isola art center invite artists and architects to submit a proposal for our open call titled “sprouting minds” with the objective to redesign isola pepe verde’s garden in Milan.

It will be assessed by an internationally renowned jury and requires participants to realize, in a chronological sequence (3 lots in 3 sequential stages), a design proposal that rethinks the space of isola pepe verde while maintaining the functional needs and its collective and shared identity.

In particular, the competition calls for a project that could transform the entire site, but with a specific focus on the playground (area 1), the first area intended for renewal.

The project must serve as an alternative to the city’s urban or “global” public spaces which reflect a toneless international design: in this sense, the playground becomes a hologram to reimagine an urban transformation rooted in actions that are molecular, identitarian and creative based on small-scale spaces and their interaction.

The theme of the game and the invention of new rules thus becomes the concept of the competition. The game is interpreted in two ways: first, as space/time practice able to generate new imaginative principles in a child; secondly, as an alternative to the opposing norms of the adjacent city.

Within this framework, the participants are called to address the following points:

Regarding general and urban design, think about the “minority” as an alternative to global urban development. In this sense, the project should give an idea of a city that is different from the adjacent city of Porta Nuova, one that can principally generate an idea of molecular and site-specific city;

Regarding the playground, concentrate first on its theoretical/conceptual interpretation and then its formal interpretation. In this way, participants must answer the following questions: What is the significance of games/play for children; In which terms does the game reflect and act on their dreams and imagination; What are the physical “limitations” necessary for a child to construct their creativity freely through space; How can this space represent itself as dynamic and modifiable over time, without becoming fixed in one rigid, permanent and determined position?

As is often expressed in literature in the field, children in fact “theorise” their being in the world through playing games, developing their own vision, personality, creativity and position. Playing thus becomes, and along with it its space, the first modality of forming new rules.

2 who can apply

The public call is open to all architects, artists, designers and creatives from all over the world, both individuals and groups; furthermore, it is open to students from any nationality, and it has no age limit. It is thus not necessary to belong to a professional order. Candidates can also participate in groups/collectives; in this case, they must indicate the group leader’s name. Candidates are not permitted to belong to multiple groups or projects, not as a member, neither as a consultant or collaborator and non-compliance will result in the elimination of all groups that they are a part of.

3 premise

Isola Pepe Verde is a community garden, the result of a collective effort, which was established as an association on Oct 6, 2011 as was required by the City of Milan. It contributes to the development of a new urban culture based on participation and the reclaiming of responsibilities by citizens.

The association is non-profit, and its activities cannot be subject to fractions, politics, economics or denominations that conflict with the norms of its statute. Currently, Isola Pepe Verde consists of 20 founding members, 18 board members, 594 members of whom 306 have made their annual renewal. It is born out of the need to give a green space back to the neighbourhood Isola, which for a long time was dominated by the constructions sites of the Porta Nuova development, and is the culmination of citizens’ willpower and experimentation with modes of sharing to define and manage the green spaces of the city. At present, the association holds the rights, granted by the City of Milan, to the publicly-owned area of 1.800 sqm.

The current project that appropriated and renewed an area previously used as building depository was made possible by the municipal resolution no. 1143 on May 25, 2012 that permitted the association to start the first experience of community gardens, and thanks to the agreement signed by the city council district 9, Isola Pepe Verde became the first community garden in Milan.

The garden is currently open every day from 9.30 am to sunset, opening hours guaranteed by the number of volunteers. Since its inauguration in 2013, the activities of Pepe Verde have increased exponentially. Aside from the garden, the association has also been managing the green stretch of land between Pepe street and the Bussa overpass since 2011. The hope is that this area will be part of the planning to turn the part of Pepe street in front of the garden into a pedestrian lane, creating a green space that will extend all the way to the Bussa overpass.

Since its start, the area of Pepe Verde has been self-sustainable without any costs for local institutions. The organisation and maintenance of the garden are managed entirely by the association: the spaces and activities are organised and take form thanks to the collective contributions and volunteering of its visitors.

To read more about Isola Pepe Verde’s vision and its entire statute visit the website http:// isolapepeverde.org/ and visit http://isolartcenter.org/ to find out more about Isola Art Center.

4 information about isola pepe verde

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANNUAL VISITORS

Isola Pepe Verde hosted 120 daily visitors, 6500 flaneurs, 2500 party goers and 22 associations.

THE GARDEN

Currently, the garden has 1000 natural specimens, 200 plant species, 35 ecoboxes and 2 compost boxes.

DIMENSIONS / SPACES / SURFACES

Isola Pepe Verde is configured as a space of about 1830 square meters, divided as follow: 1. playground: about 435 square meters; 2. ecobox space: approximately 310 square meters; 3. garden: approximately 505 square meters; 4. roofed areas: 530 square meters; 5. closed rooms: room 1 – 26,5 square meters; room 2 – 10.5 square meters; room 3 – 11 square meters; 6. parking: 390 square meters; 7. buffer zone from the overpass: 650 square meters.

ACTIVITIES

The centre includes a variety of diverse activities that are flexible and dynamic and which could be classified in the following categories: 1. Kids activities that consist of play areas, educational workshops under the roof area, summer schools/camps and other courses; 2. Gardening activities: 35 ecoboxes distributed to create a community garden; workshops regarding gardening; 3. Activities for the elderly/senior citizens; 4. Workshops/courses for adults; 5. Craft and secondhand markets; 6. Parties; 7. Art and book exhibitions/presentations.

COMMUNITY GARDENS

Community gardens become specifically emblematic of a transitional phase typical of the contemporary city, that attempt to reconcile the idea of the metropolis with the capillary value of neighbourhoods. As reported by M. Schiltz, this phenomenon was typical at the end of the nineteenth century where it became a testimony of the shift from a rural society to an industrial reality. Today, the community garden is an emerging feature in the transition between an industrial dormitory city and post-industrial city focussed on well-being. All proposals must keep room for the ecoboxes and reflect on the culture of community gardens as a response to the failure of contemporary public spaces.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Isola Pepe Verdes aims to keep its environmental impact and consumption of energy resources to a minimum and reduce its ecological footprint. For this reason, since its opening, the association has been working to become a self-sufficient space with zero impact. At the moment it is equipped with solar panels for electricity and five rainwater tanks for garden irrigation.

5 objectives

REQUIREMENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PROPOSALS

The purpose of the competition is to think about the reorganisation of the Isola Pepe Verde space in its entirety, with a focus on the playground. As mentioned before, the objective is to realise, in successive stages (3 parts in 3 consecutive times), a design project that can reimagine the garden area, as indicated in the attachments. In particular, candidates are called to prioritise the design of the playground (which will have to comply with the anti-accident and safety regulations for children), but also focus on the development of the games themselves.

It must be different from market standards and instead, represent new game ideas (participants can refer to the scientific literature on the subject ), which involve some of the themes related to dreams, creativity, the way of thinking about reality and the world. The themes of the imagination and nature are crucial to the project. The candidates can freely choose whether to rethink all the other elements of Isola Pepe Verde, such as the fence, the roofs, the entrances, and internal distributions, in order to generate an idea of overall transformation consistent with the nature of the presented project.

Nevertheless, it is important that projects take into consideration the following design guidelines:

1. SITE SPECIFIC;

2. THAT IT IS DYNAMIC IN USE AND TRANSFORMABLE IN TIME (FLEXIBILITY, DYNAMISM, MOBILITY) AND ADAPTABLE TO THE CHANGING NEEDS OF ISOLA PEPE VERDE’S VISITORS AND USERS, AND THAT IT IMPLEMENTS THE USE BOTH BY THE COMMUNITY THAT CURRENTLY LIVES THE SPACE DAILY AND A WIDER PUBLIC;

3. ABLE TO FACILITATE DIY (DO IT YOURSELF) OF SOME OF THE PROJECT/ DESIGN COMPONENTS;

4. THAT IT USES RENEWABLE, ECOLOGICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS;

5. ZERO IMPACT, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO ALL THE NATURAL FACTORS THAT CAN BE USED FOR ENERGY SUSTENANCE, WATER, AND SO FORTH, SO THAT THE PLACE MIGHT BECOME INTEGRALLY INFRA-FREE IN A NEAR FUTURE.

CONSIGNMENT OF APPLICATION

Candidates must present their proposals online (MAX 25Mb) by and no later than the deadline at 5:00 P.M. (Milan time) on November 1, 2018 at: [email protected]

CALENDAR

The competition calendar is as follows:

1. Deadline for applicants: by November 1, 2018, 5:00 P.M., Milan time; 2. Evaluation by the judging committee: before December 1, 2018; 3. Communication of the winners: by December 7, 2018; 4. An exhibition, publication: by March 21, 2019.

Any changes to the calendar can be arranged by the organising body for justified reasons and will be published on the site: www.sproutingmindscompetition.com

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The work of the judging committee, whose decision will be final, will take place by assigning scores to each project proposal, according to the following assessment criteria:

1. Characteristics of the project: 60

1.1. Urban quality of the general architectural/artistic project 1.2. Quality of the detailed playground design 1.3. Originality of the design 1.4. Flexibility and transformability of the project over time 1.5. Feasibility, functionality and ease of autoconstruction of parts 1.6. Energy efficiency and sustainability

2. Construction costs: 20

3. Project management/maintenance: 20

The evaluation of the submitted design proposals will be carried out, through the average of the coefficients attributed by the individual jurors’ discretion.

AWARDS, REFUNDS, AND SUBSEQUENT COMMITMENTS

The competition will award the following prizes and acknowledgements:

1. First Prize: 3.000,00 euro

2. Five special mentions by the Jury

Before completion, the projects will be published and exhibited at Isola Pepe Verde.

Address: Via Guglielmo Pepe, 10, 20159 Milano MI, Italy

Jurors:

Mariette Schiltz, Elisa Cristiana Cattaneo, Africa Sunico, Luis Callejas, Lorenzo Degli Esposti, Yona Friedman, Matteo Ghidoni, Hou Hanru, Richard Ingersoll, Ugo La Pietra, Enrico Lunghi, Andrea Masu, Tomás Saraceno, Marco Scotini.

Competition Website: www.sproutingmindscompetition.org

Location: Via Guglielmo Pepe, 10, 20159 Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy