Simona Sanvito
Country: Italy
Circular Circles
Urban and Public Design
CIRCULAR CIRCLES or handmade knitted urban awnings made by neighbourhood communities with second life plastic films with the aim of mitigating heat islands. * THOUGHTS and EMOTIONS I am a visual relational artist and I am very committed to environmental issues and to plastic recycle and reduction. When I saw your call, I thought I wanted to propose a participatory project that would involve the communities. In my practice I am used to observing, so I started to observe the human and not-human communities around me. For example, the blackbird that made her nest in my yard with plastic from separate waste collection: a very clever solution! Thinking about the courtyard, I remembered that in my childhood it was normal for the people of the building, and especially for women, to sit in the courtyard to take some fresh air and chat. Often they became real women’s circles, in which knowledge and experiences were exchanged while knitting. How do these circles live today? I immediately thought about knitting clubs, about practices as yarn bombing and guerrilla knitting that color many cities, bringing joy and creating something together. And I thought about the hand knitting with jumbo yarns, that could be suitable for urban scale. Walking through the city in search of ideas, I looked for possible meeting places that could reproduce the dynamics of the courtyards of my childhood: urban space often makes meeting difficult, in fact we need comfortable places to stop. Often there are benches and seats, but it happens that they are in the sun, and that do not allow a prolonged stay. Moreover, with climate change, the problem of heat islands is increasingly impacting and discourages being together. I have direct experience of this when I go to playgrounds with my son, they often do not have shade and at some hours we have to come back home. I tried to draw on paper these ideas, to bring thoughts and emotions together, and with my great surprise the drawing led me to my aha moment: everyone of these thoughts is CIRCULAR! Although I had the think and the shape behind my project clear, I was in a big doubt about the artefact to submit, because I’m not a designer and it isn’t easy to think to a piece to put in production for public use (safety, durability…). The artworks for which I am known (‘Green is Gold’ series; ‘Plastic Circles’ *see my bio) are made by different plastic debris and I don’t have the control of them, so they are not suitable for this project. Moreover I would like to think public space as an extension of private spaces, in order to increase the commitment and the sense of care of the users towards the common places they attend. I spoke of my doubt with my friend, Rebecca Agnes, artist too, and she gave me a great advice: why don’t you think to URBAN CURTAINS? * ARTEFACTS and MATERIALS Imagine plastic circles of different diameters made by hand using the techniques of jumbo knitting and hand knitting. Imagine joining several circles together to form urban awnings to mitigate heat islands. Imagine an organic development, which occupy the interstitial spaces naturally forming tailor-cut solutions, subject to modifications, additions, replacements. Imagine that these circles are made reusing waste plastic materials from nearby shops and companies: packaging films from pallets, industrial packaging, greenhouse covers, soft plastic debris and more, all cut and twisted to create a jumbo yarn. The neighbourhood communities involved will identify the businesses and companies that can provide the materials for the project (es. LLDPE). The materials can be different from one circle to the other, but the main features are: • not toxic • not hurting / non-abrading • not inflammable • resistant to sunlight • resistant to high and low temperatures • clean and cleanable • with tensile strength • workable materials (softness, manageability…) The life span of each plastic circle depends on the material used.The circles are connected each other with simple metal carabiners (at least 4 points) and they are fixed with ropes to safe handholds for hanging the awning. In this way, once their function is finished, each circle can be recycled separately and the ropes and the carabiners can be reused.Each artefact will be fixed in accordance with local laws and regulations. * PLACES and COMMUNITIES Imagine temporary knitting circles open to those who want to participate, spontaneous clubs that rely on existing urban networks with the purpose to take care of their neighbourhood. Imagine these people finding themselves outdoors, in parks and courtyards, in physical circles (with distancing) in which, while knitting, they can chat, get to know each other, exchange knowledge and experiences. Imagine that this project gives birth to new friendships and new groups. Make communities is not easy, but make temporary communities for a purpose is easier: the project is aimed at involving the communities where the circular circles will be places. CHILDREN PLAYGROUNDS parks playgrounds, kinder-gardens, school playgrounds > parents, teachers, students GARDENS public gardens and parks, library gardens, hospital gardens > regulars users, workers PRIVATE COURTYARDS and TERRACES private building courtyards, cafés, restaurants and hotels > inhabitants, customers, guests SPORT FACILITIES stands, refreshment areas, urban walkways, cycle paths > sports associations, parents * At the moment I am at the prototype stage of this new thrilling adventure. Thank you for your attention.
