Project Heracles #9

Among the postcards received for Project Heracles, Matteo Costanzo [2A + P/A] has selected those which represent the most basic aspect of crossing a border.

For the guest-curated sets of Project Heracles submissions by Lieven De Cauter and Dieter Lesage, Geoff Manaugh, Saskia Sassen, Bruce Sterling, Asif Khan and Pernilla Ohrstedt, Elisa Poli, Carson Chan, and Salvatore D'Agostino, please look here. Matteo Costanzo is the next of our guest curators to select his favorite entries out of the hundreds Domus received.

In how many ways can we reach the other side? A series of hypotheses represents the most basic aspect of crossing a border, the distinct nature of the crossing.

Postcard #142. [top image] A large gridded city connects the two continents. It reminds us that behind any political problem, there is always a need that can be satisfied by architecture.

Postcard #8. [below] A solar-powered dirigible makes us think about the environmental consequences of building infrastructure to connect the two coasts.

Top: A floating city between two worlds, Isabel López Balan, Mexico City (Mexico). <br />Above: Connectio Eura–Europa Africa, Arch. Maurizio Pignatti (Italy). — Top: A floating city between two worlds, Isabel López Balan, Mexico City (Mexico).
Above: Connectio Eura–Europa Africa, Arch. Maurizio Pignatti (Italy).

Postcard #28. [below] Sea levels rising with the deteriorating effects of climate change risk producing environmental disaster in the Mediterranean. A large dam made of non-recyclable waste will guarantee salvation and a grassy strip of land will connect the two continents. The road will be a long one, and not without danger.

I had a dream, Arch. Lorenzo Zamperetti, Bolzano (Italy).

Postcard #31. [below] A cable car lets us fly above the Mediterranean waters. Nothing more simple and spectacular.

In how many ways can we reach the other side?

Fabrizio Tozzoli & Eliana Salazar, San Lazzaro di Savena, BO (Italy).

Postcard #32. [below] An archipelago of islands organized on a triangular grid becomes a system of "stepping-stones" ready to support possible bridges, if necessary, or navigable space among the cells of this new territorial structure.

Ponte Mobile, Sveva Brunetti, Daniele Coderoni, Giulio Aleandri, Marco Antonacci (Italy).

Postcard #53. [below] A roundabout connects the two continents. Land that belongs to no one provides easy crossing; a cloning of the region that must inevitably draw upon the two different identities.

Euro-African roundabout, Andrea Jasci Cimini, Lugano (Switzerland).

Postcard #101. [below] Nothing could be more obvious. A bridge structure sustains a series of fans which, by using their full power, parts the sea, enabling us to walk between walls of water. A true miracle of technology.

Postcard #109. [below] A pedestrian crossing. A strong and ironic image at the same time. I haven't figured out how, but we should be able to cross here.

Life Crossing, Gianfranco Toso, Roma (Italy).

Postcard #135. [below] An artificial island. A sort of vacation destination—driven by an underwater mechanism that controls its movement—travels continuously between the two continents. Clearly, everything is environmentally sustainable, using only wind and water. In this case the route itself is the journey's destination.

Tidal Moving Island, Ab Rpgers design, London (UK).

Postcard #2. [below] Perhaps this is the easiest and most immediate way to respond to the need for a bridge. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line which, in this case, becomes a strip of artificial land that can be colonized.

Una possibilità, Mir Architettura (Italy).

Project Heracles #9

Among the postcards received for Project Heracles, Matteo Costanzo [2A + P/A] has selected those which represent the most basic aspect of crossing a border.

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