Historic Washhouse in Italy Earns Verdant Makeover

by админ

Surrounded by plantings, a Nolita sofa by CMP Design faces two Circuit tables by Pedrali’s in-house design team. Photography by Ottavio Tomasini/courtesy of Pedrali.

The 2024 Landscape Festival in Bergamo mixes lush greenery with colorful outdoor furniture from Pedrali. An iconic site in the Città Alta (Upper Town) of the northern Italian city of Bergamo is the Antico Lavatoio, a historic wash house built in 1881. Sheltered by an open cast-iron and metal slab pitched roof, an elongated white marble tank is carefully partitioned and engineered with a drain system to release dirty water—despite the low hygienic standards of the time. Last month, the wash house and its surroundings hosted “Choose Your Future: Green or Dry—Pedrali at the Antico Lavatoio,” an installation by Greta Bianchi, Marco Togni, and Michele Pezzoni for Bergamo’s annual Landscape Festival.

Aiming to express a balance between nature and humankind as an answer to today’s environmental challenges, the team of artists enticed residents of the city to relax with artfully arranged container gardens, lush greenery sprouting from tree stumps, and outdoor furniture from Pedrali, the Italian manufacturer headquartered nearby. Flowing through the installation was a 130-foot-long ‘river,’ crafted from light blue-painted wood coated with a reflective, semi-transparent film.

“In order to address global crises, it is essential to adopt practical solutions such as those geared toward ecosystem conservation, sustainable resource management, and the development of green and blue infrastructure—the networks, that is, of natural and semi-natural areas in a territory,” says Togni.

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Historic Washhouse in Italy Earns Verdant Makeover

The Antico Lavatoio, a historic washhouse built in 1881. Photography courtesy of Marco Togni, Greta Bianchi, Michele Pezzoni, and Marco Bonetti.

Historic Washhouse in Italy Earns Verdant Makeover

Sandwiched by two Nolita sofas by CMP Design, Basaglia Rota Nodari’s Giravolta lamp perches on a Circuit table by Pedrali’s in-house design team. Photography by Ottavio Tomasini/courtesy of Pedrali.

The river is intended to symbolize the timeline of past (when ecosystems were not influenced by man), present (when ecosystems are unbalanced), and future (when man and nature find a balance and way to co-exist).

 “The project thus explores two scenarios: a negative one, where nature is overtaken by human actions, and a positive one, with a balance between humans and nature,” explains Pezzoni. “The choice is up to us,” adds Bianchi.

Historic Washhouse in Italy Earns Verdant Makeover

Blue and yellow Caementum tables are by Marco Merendi and Diego Vencato. Photography by Ottavio Tomasini/courtesy of Pedrali.

Historic Washhouse in Italy Earns Verdant Makeover

The painted river. Photography courtesy of Marco Togni, Greta Bianchi, Michele Pezzoni, and Marco Bonetti.

Historic Washhouse in Italy Earns Verdant Makeover

Tribeca chairs by CMP Design pull up to Elliot tables by Patrick Jouin. Photography by Ottavio Tomasini/courtesy of Pedrali.

Historic Washhouse in Italy Earns Verdant Makeover

Surrounded by plantings, a Nolita sofa by CMP Design faces two Circuit tables by Pedrali’s in-house design team. Photography by Ottavio Tomasini/courtesy of Pedrali.

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