The large migrations, the globalization 3.0 and the pervasive technologies determine a cultural landscape in continuous transformation. The concepts of inter-culturalism and multi-culturalism are not new at all. They are now essential approaches not only in the design approaches but also and even more in the social relationships, inside of cities and territories constantly crossed by flows and movements. We have long assumed that in the contemporary context "belonging" and "identity" are largely negotiable and revocable", and that culture is a "process that molds itself" constantly: connections with the inhabited places have become transitory and yet more and more mediated by technology. We are interested in understanding how this "culture in transition" requires design and, in particular, space design, new tools and solutions to answer to local identities, constantly seeking balance between change and protection of their material and immaterial heritage. Which are the directions for the design of spaces and services aimed at enhancing territories and communities in transformation? First of all, design prerogatives are translation and narration of immaterial values into real devices, whether they are physical products or places or services. In this sense, design helps to make sense of the inhabited world, and need today to assume multiple, multi-cultural languages. But design also intervenes in the processes of re-construction of identities in some socio-cultural contexts where they seem to be unrecognizable. In this sense, it carries out a complex of unveiling values and promoting them, from multiple actions with the communities living in the places themselves. The paper will present some reflections on these issues starting from a research project aimed at enhancing, with the tools of design, the territories of Water Region Lombardy. These territories, whose history and identity are strongly characterized by the presence of natural and artificial water channels, nowadays have to re-design their own identity, and also to rediscover the original vocation of water. They have known a fast development and increase of the population and are still crossed by large flows of people who cannot know and enjoy local heritage, whether it is landscape or cultural or rural good. In the process of enhancement of identities there are many design-oriented skills (technicians, landscape architects, agronomists, ...) and also legal instruments (protection and use of water resources). The design acts in a complementary way to these competences, proposing visions, narrations and projects that: adopt different scales (dimensional scale, multilevel action on materials and immaterial); intercept people (processes, services); enhance good practices (economic sustainability); work on multi-dimensionality (multi-cultural dimension).

Designing places for cultural landscapes in transition

A. Rebaglio
2018-01-01

Abstract

The large migrations, the globalization 3.0 and the pervasive technologies determine a cultural landscape in continuous transformation. The concepts of inter-culturalism and multi-culturalism are not new at all. They are now essential approaches not only in the design approaches but also and even more in the social relationships, inside of cities and territories constantly crossed by flows and movements. We have long assumed that in the contemporary context "belonging" and "identity" are largely negotiable and revocable", and that culture is a "process that molds itself" constantly: connections with the inhabited places have become transitory and yet more and more mediated by technology. We are interested in understanding how this "culture in transition" requires design and, in particular, space design, new tools and solutions to answer to local identities, constantly seeking balance between change and protection of their material and immaterial heritage. Which are the directions for the design of spaces and services aimed at enhancing territories and communities in transformation? First of all, design prerogatives are translation and narration of immaterial values into real devices, whether they are physical products or places or services. In this sense, design helps to make sense of the inhabited world, and need today to assume multiple, multi-cultural languages. But design also intervenes in the processes of re-construction of identities in some socio-cultural contexts where they seem to be unrecognizable. In this sense, it carries out a complex of unveiling values and promoting them, from multiple actions with the communities living in the places themselves. The paper will present some reflections on these issues starting from a research project aimed at enhancing, with the tools of design, the territories of Water Region Lombardy. These territories, whose history and identity are strongly characterized by the presence of natural and artificial water channels, nowadays have to re-design their own identity, and also to rediscover the original vocation of water. They have known a fast development and increase of the population and are still crossed by large flows of people who cannot know and enjoy local heritage, whether it is landscape or cultural or rural good. In the process of enhancement of identities there are many design-oriented skills (technicians, landscape architects, agronomists, ...) and also legal instruments (protection and use of water resources). The design acts in a complementary way to these competences, proposing visions, narrations and projects that: adopt different scales (dimensional scale, multilevel action on materials and immaterial); intercept people (processes, services); enhance good practices (economic sustainability); work on multi-dimensionality (multi-cultural dimension).
2018
Cumulus Conference Proceedings Wuxi 2018 Diffused Transition & Design Opportunities
978-952-60-0092-3
Design of places; Local and multi-identities; Heritage; Water region
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11311/1088297
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