St. Horto

El proyecto nació con la idea de crear una perfecta sinergia entre las tecnologías arquitectónicas, la naturaleza y lo social. El nombre  «St. Horto «es un juego de palabras entre el idioma italiano y el inglés. Las dos palabras dan al mismo tiempo la idea de un jardín sagrado e íntimo y de algo aparentemente desordenado pero llena de vida como lo es una planta. Juntas representan la geometría irregular pero a su vez controlada del diseño arquitectónico del jardín.

St. Horto redefine los límites a través de un juego de compresiones y expansiones creando un espacio dinámico y atractivo. El concepto surge a partir de la observación de los métodos del hilado mecánico (molino de lana) y manual (cabezal o mistaff). Estos dos elementos han sido reinterpretados y se incorporan en el proyecto, representados por postes de madera y cuerdas de lona blanca. Los tanques triangulares que contienen el jardín real se obtienen mediante la repetición de tres módulos, los cuales en combinación crean composiciones sin fin.

En consonancia con las actividades culturales que se desarrollan en el interior, hemos decidido adoptar esta geometría por su analogía con las diversas formas de arte: pintura, dibujo, música, cine. La arquitectura juega un papel fundamental: los espacios son asimétricos pero proporcionados, desiguales pero armónicos, crean perspectivas táctiles, olfativas y visuales inusuales, diseñados para ofrecer una experiencia completa y adecuada para los niños.

En tres puntos particulares del jardín utilizamos cables de acero que se convierten en verdaderos instrumentos como si fueran un arpa. El proyecto combina cuatro factores inseparables: funcionalidad, estética, producción y educación.

Original text in English

The project was born from the idea of creating a perfect synergy between architecture, nature and social technologies. The name “St. Horto” is a pun, between Italian and English language. The two words “Horto” and “St” give at the same time the idea of a sacred, intimate garden and of something crooked, apparently disordered but full of life, just like a plant. Together they represent the irregular geometry (crooked or oblique) but highly controlled architectural design of the garden.

St. Horto fits perfectly within the project area and at the same time it redefines the boundaries through a game of compressions and expansions creating a dynamic and attractive space. The concept comes to life from the observation of spinning methods: mechanical (woolen mill) and manual (spindle or mistaff). These two elements have been reinterpreted and incorporated into the project and represented by wooden poles and ropes of white canvas. The triangular tanks containing the real garden are obtained by the repetition of three modules, which in combination create endless compositions.

In line with the Lanificio’s inner cultural activities, we have chosen to adopt this geometry by the analogy with various forms of art: painting, drawing, music, cinema. The architecture plays a fundamental role: spaces which are asymmetric but proportionate, uneven but harmonic, create unusual tactile, olfactory and visual perspectives designed to facilitate a complete and suitable experience for children. The access to the garden is on the west side of the roof, in front of the entrance to the terrace.

From here you can immerge yourself in a space characterized by a succession of energetic triangulations, full and empty, which follow one another along a path of particular educational functions. The innovative feature of St. Horto is definitely its integration with the 2.0 technology through a customized project. Inspired by other projects of interactive gardens with sensors and thanks to the direct experience of Alberto Serra, creator of Jardimpu, it was decided to install a technology allowing realtime monitoring of the growing plants in the garden, through the use of hardware tools (Arduino with sensors and webcam) and software.

In three particular points of the garden, we use steel cables which become veritable harp instruments. The St. Horto project combines four inseparable factors among them: functionality, aesthetics, production and teaching. The production is essential in the designed layout. Inside the tanks the usable area for cultivation is 115 square meters (flexible for future expansions) and is therefore enough for a real farming production, not only purely educational/disciplinary.