Abitando il Tempo is a project that links to the research carried out by Ugo La Pietra “Abitare il Tempo”, aiming to bring together craftmanships, contemporary design, culture and knowledge.
We are working on an abandoned site in the central northern part of Puglia, which is beingdevastated by Xylella Fastidiosa and the effect of climate warming among other factors (including large scale industrialized monocultures). The olive trees, once the basis of both the Apulian economy and culture, are dying. With their loss, the land appears worthless and devoid of life and it is often sold or abandoned. Our project aims to bring back the value of the site for the people inhabiting the area, in the short, medium and long term without neglecting any scales.
To manage this great complexity, our concept works with two angles of attack: one is on the basis of connecting points of value in a defined area such as cultural heritage of the territory; the second is about addressing biodiversity as a whole that only needs not to be divided or threatened. These spots and areas are first highlighted and then linked by theoretical lines and corridors.
Our project Abitando il Tempo (inhabiting the Time) flows along the lines thanks to a biotopically strong structure allowing and helping nature do its course. Dry walls can and the voids in our wooden structure are inhabit hundred of species, many of them still unknown to Man. We complete dry walls corridors, thus enhancing a green net across the whole land. On human scale, we give work to local carpenter since our project only needs small section of wood. Finally all the wood needed is directly collected from the the dead olive trees, thus re-using their beautiful material. Then, it will decay or be preserved. In all perspectives, the project is respectful of the land and people.
Abitando il Tempo works with different temporalities and scales, it emphasizes that nature and culture work together and cannot be considered one without another. In our subjective understanding, nature knows no boundary just as culture is absolutely necessary to human life and settlement. Our methodology is in itself prototypical in that it could be expanded to the surrounding areas.
The path consists of a passerelle crafted from dead olive trees’ wood. Our goal is to utilize natural materials, allowing them to integrate back over time. Through this intervention we aim to improvethe site’s inherent value, bringing life to the ground itself, sheltering and helping many different species (animals and plants) to inhabit the space.
Different setups will be created using existing elements on the site to enhance visitor comfort, such as benches and toilettes. The passerelle varies in height and width according to the places it crosses, to offer the best experience and views of the site; when allowed, it even blends into the ground.
The experience evolves over time, influenced by seasons, light, and weather conditions, providing visitors with a unique sensation during each visit. It’s an immersion into nature and culture, seamlessly blending together while showcasing the site’s value and spectacularity through minimal human intervention.