Contemporary Urban Green Space and Its Historical Roots. Nature Domesticated Through Alternative Spatial and Architectural Solutions: Fid-Bau Portal

Contemporary Urban Green Space and Its Historical Roots. Nature Domesticated Through Alternative Spatial and Architectural Solutions

Romanato, Matteo Giuseppe

Abstract

For a long time, the history of landscape gardening has offered models of green space based on different spatial visions. While the Italian garden was strictly codified by architectural design, the English tradition adapted existing landscapes to the picturesque taste. Such successful archetypes have inspired several projects also in contemporary cities. However, the relationship between architecture and nature has longly tried to find new and practicable ways of coexistence, following the demand of mass civilization for green space and sunlight. The aim of integrating nature into residential spaces led to enclose the vegetation in greenhouses and conservatories. Nonetheless, the first conscious approach was undertaken by Henri Sauvage, which resulted, in the long run, perhaps more effective than the elitist masterpieces of Le Corbusier and Wright. A more radical stance in favour of nature-driven design can be found in Ambasz’s green buildings as well as in other underestimated and often criticized architectural experiments. Like residences, urban parks also have a long history in their background and planners have struggled to abandon nineteenth-century patterns. The case of Milan and its recent urban transformations can display clues of these legacies both in the public realm and in different types of building. Above all, Parco delle Memorie Industriali, Citylife Parco Tre Torri and Biblioteca degli Alberi reveal limits and potentials for an essential question of contemporary cities. In these green spaces, echoes of the mentioned historical models can be detected and new perspectives are offered to crucial environmental challenges.