4 ELEMENTS/TAKING CARE Padiglione Italia

Elémire Zolla describes “The wheel of the four elements” thus in the book Le meraviglie della natura. Introduzione all’alchimia (The Wonders of Nature. Introduction to Alchemy), published in 1975. As part of the Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival theme, proposed by the curator Paola Antonelli for the XXII International Exhibition at the Triennale di Milano, the Italian Pavilion displays the outcomes of the most authoritative research projects by the Politecnico di Milano that are devoted to the care of the surrounding environment. Principles shared by all the designs submitted are the deep respect for the four natural elements (water, earth, air and fire) lying at the root of the different forms of life, and the resultant adoption of sustainable intervention methods tailored to the specific contexts.