ISPACE is a project born out of the idea of combining art and architecture to create environments that stimulate people to perceive the influence of a space on their moods. It is a re-evaluation of the territory, allowing us to rediscover our bond with nature. Ispace is an invitation to discover the paths through the valley and reveals the richness of biodiversity and magic hidden corners of the forest.
The project consists of the construction of 10 timber pavilions / sculptures in the local woods of Rossa. The installation of the first work was completed in October 2020.
Set in the woods of the village of Rossa, in the Calanca Valley, the project, undertaken by Davide Macullo Architects with the support of the RossArte Foundation, the municipality of Rossa and the Swiss National Park Val Calanca has involved the inhabitants of the valley, visitors and institutions in working towards a common goal and contributes to the debate on the enhancement of rural areas. These installations / sculptures form part of the wider work of the foundation, giving Rossa and Val Calanca an identity as a destination for work and life, as well as for tourism.
The work of Davide Macullo’s studio is centred on the awareness that architecture is the link between the DNA of a place and its future. The series of drawings ‘Man seeking space’ imagine man’s constant search to find the ideal space and scale at which to feel at ease and it is this idea that informs the architecture and has been translated into Ispace.
People have the extraordinary ability to “feel” space through their senses with their eyes closed. The perception of space through the senses is central to the work of the studio, which began in the 1980s during Macullo’s studies under professor Luis Flotron in Lugano, who made the perception of space his main focus during a lifetime of research.
The intervention in the woods acts to counterbalance the current trend of the exponential development of technology that will alter the way humans build their habitat. The selection of native material; larch trees cut on site to deforest the areas on the slopes of the valley involved in the archaeological restoration of the ancient terraces, is the first sign of sensitivity to the environment and uses the material to the best of its evocative power. The purity of design thinking and the almost absence of particular construction techniques remind us of a work that does not need to declare a temporal condition to emphasize the centrality of the relationship between man and nature.
PUBLICATIONS
2024
– “Rossa, il ritorno del Tempo. Otto spazi-scultura nel bosco dell’alta Calanca” L’Osservatore, 25 May 2024, Switzerland
– “Complessa semplicità”, Images, Inverno 2024, n.52, Italy
– “Der wald als architekturbühne”, First, 1.24, Switzerland
2023
– “Nature, Art, Perception, Territory”, G&G Magazine, September 2023, n.40, Italy
– “Eins mit der natur”, Das Ideale Heim, November 2023, nr.11, Switzerland
2022
– “The power of architecture”, Home’s society Magazine, Fev. 2022
– “L’architecte et la vallèe oublièe”, l’information immobiliÈre, Ètè 2022, n.138, Switzerland
2021
– “Feeling Spaces – Davide Macullo Architects”, by Philip Jodidio, Skira Editore, 2021, Italy
– “Ligne – Nouvelle forme d’art?,” Agefi Life, nr. 129 Automne 2021, 10.2021, Switzerland
– “Davide Macullo – Between architecture and poetry,” Villas, nr.107 Autumn ’21, Villas Decoration srl, Brussels
– “La passeggiata improvvisa,” Hub magazine n.8, Corriere del Ticino, 08.2021, Switzerland
– “Bruciare d’entusiasmo,” Hub magazine n.8, Corriere del Ticino, 08.2021, Switzerland
– “Swisshouse XXXV Rossa,” Platform – Best internationalhouses design selection, 06.2021, Publicomm Srl, Italy
– “ISPACE,” cult mensile culturale RSI, giugno 2021, Club Rete Due, Switzerland
– “ISPACE,” L’Arca International nr.159, March–April 2021, S.A.M. MDO, Monaco
– “Storie di legno locale – Il percorso Ispace,” COOP Cooperazione, n.11, 16.03.2021, Switzerland
– “Il paese è piccolo, le idee grandi – Così Rossa rilancia la valle,” Corriere del Ticino, 12.03.2021, Switzerland
– “Holzkunst im Calancatal,” FIRST Magazin 1/21, Pro Holzbau Schweiz Gmbh, Switzerland
– “Rossa kreiert Räume für Träume,” Tessiner Zeitung 22.01.2021, Switzerland
– “Modern Tree Houses – ISPACE,” INHERITAGE magazine, winter issue, Taiwan Sotheby’s International Realty, Taiwan
2020
– “ISPACE – Ein Bild 1000 Worte,” BIANCO Alpine Lifestyle Magazine, Winter 2020/21, BIANCO Verlag GmbH, Switzerland
– “Nuovi spazi sensoriali in bosco,” Agricoltore Ticinese, nr. 49, 04.12.2020, Switzerland
– “(Bau-)Kunst in der Abgeschiedenheit,” db deutsche bauzeitung, 12.2020, Konradin Medien GmbH, Germany
– “ISPACE – Permanente Holzinstallation,” Architecture Suisse, 219 n.4-2020, Editions Anthony Krafft, Switzerland
– “Das Calancatal ist jetz auch Kunst”, Zeitung Sudostschweiz, 24.10.2020, Switzerland
WEB
Timberonweb_Natura Arte Percezione ISPACE
2020_11_12_I sassi parlanti_A4.indd (parcovalcalanca.swiss)
Ispace | Ente Turistico Regionale del Moesano (graubuenden.ch)
Architectural gardens around the world to soothe the soul | Wallpaper*
Ispace | Davide Macullo Architects | Archello
Ispace Installation, Rossa, Switzerland – e-architect (e-architect.com)
davide macullo plants ‘Ispace’ in the forests of a swiss village (designboom.com)
iSpace Pavilion – Design Daily
“Ispace”, i padiglioni nascosti nella foresta di Davide Macullo | Collater.al
Ispace装置,瑞士 / Davide Macullo Architects – 谷德设计网 | Art and architecture, Architect, Rural area (pinterest.com)
Poetic proposal in the forest. Ispace by Davide Macullo Architects | The Strength of Architecture | From 1998 (metalocus.es)
Ispace (worldarchitecture.org)
Davide Macullo: when architecture approaches art – The Tree Mag
Ispace | Davide Macullo Architects (designverse.com.cn)
«Ispace»: Davide Macullos Holzkunst im Calancatal» – YouTube
Ding Dong – Im Brockenhaus und auf dem Campingplatz – Play SRF