The philosophy of Serra Madre

The project was born from a group that for many years has been questioning the Italian cultural system and the new models of regenerated spaces. The philosophy of Serra Madre uses artistic and creative languages ​​as drivers to stimulate new ways of living and perceiving the present, combining them with an open gaze to imagine new ways of inhabiting the world.

In this direction and by linking to the history of abandoned spaces, art is put in dialogue with nature, technology and science to stimulate questions and experiments in response to the ecological and socio-political crisis we are witnessing.

The idea of ​​Nicoletta Tranquillo and the team that takes care of the project is that "cultural centers have an active role in the cultural transformation of a community and are fundamental places to experiment with alternative presents."

Sustainable architecture

A philosophy that is expressed in every aspect: from the proposals on the program to the vegetarian choices of the bar, from the cultivation of the vegetable gardens to the innovative architectural choices.

The structure itself - born thanks to a regeneration project signed by the architectural studio Laprimastanza (composed of Davide Agostini, Matteo Battistini and Francesco Ceccarelli) - is equipped with a CO2 emissions compensation system, developed by Aquaponic Design, which operates through an algae cultivation system immersed in recovered rainwater, thanks to which it will be able to absorb up to 27 tons of CO2 per year.

Even greenery is not a decorative element but rather an integral part of the regenerative approach and conceived as a tool to combat climate change: in fact, fast-growing plants have been selected that ensure significant absorption of CO2, generating a positive impact also at the city level.

Projects are underway to experiment with cohabitation with wild elements: “Together with the artist Luca Boffi we are experimenting with a work based on the observation of what nature creates in spaces that we have not reclaimed and guiding the public on a relational and participatory path that aims to promote practices of care and connection with the earth" underlines Nicoletta Tranquillo.

"For us it remains fundamental to question hierarchies and reflect on how we can experiment with ways that undermine the power of man over other living beings and instead learn to cultivate environments where nature can also sit at an imaginary decision-making table.”

What we will observe at Serra Madre is a philosophy that becomes practice, offering tangible examples and stimulating reflections on how we can preserve environmental resources instead of consuming new ones.

A project that questions how to design

Serra Madre opened its doors in September with a program full of experiments. To focus the imaginaries, Tim Ingold, professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen, intervened, inviting the public to go in search of a new definition of the relationships and interdependence between human and non-human animals, plant worlds, sky, rocks and materials (reflections also collected in one of his most famous books Making). Now it will continue with a porous program open to gathering requests and proposals.

“I imagine Serra Madre as a living organism. - says Nicoletta Tranquillo - The program of activities continues but I don't want to plan everything because I think it has to evolve by staying in connection with what happens around it.

I have an imaginary in mind of what I would like the project to become but I also want to leave some space to embrace the unexpected. I would certainly like it to be a place that enables people and collectives to propose experiments that seem impossible to achieve. Sustainability also means opening the doors of perception - this is one of Tim Ingold's great lessons - and therefore following the roads that arrive, training intuition, identifying people who are bearers of something important. Some things are happening, others are still to be discovered.”