architetture culturalmente impossibili / progettarsi addosso
C A V A R T
Founded in 1973 near Florence by a group of young architecture students, Cavart was a reactionary initiative profoundly influenced by the radical architecture movement, whose philosophy - with the likes of Archizoom and Superstudio - had shaken the Italian educational system since the mid 1960s.
Promoting participation in design and deeply inspired by the natural environment and its metamorphoses, Cavart was an Italian design collective - active between 1973 and 1978 - that tirelessly pushed back architecture’s boundaries through a series of temporary and provocative events - seminars and workshops, but also films and exhibitions - to which non-professionals were invited to participate as well.
The collective’s first performance took place in the quarry of the Monte Lonzina, near Padua (Italy) - the location that inspired the name of the group: cavart meaning “quarry art”. “We chose the name Cavart because we wanted to […] realise the concept of removal, a quarry is a beautiful and extraordinary setting” which has been “formed simply by ditching the soil” explained architect Michele de Lucchi in an interview in Domus in 1999.
Hidden by the spontaneous vegetation that had taken over the abandoned quarry of Monte Ricco near Padua, in July 1975 Cavart settled for a weeklong architectural workshop called “Culturally Impossible Architecture”. More than 100 students, architects, artists and curious participated to the event, among whom were Marco Zanini and Will Alsop.
Despite its short existence, Cavart not only brought together many young individuals - among whom many were to become key actors of the upcoming international design and architecture scene - but it also played an active role in re-defining the design process itself, bringing to the center of all experience and spontaneity.
full article: http://www.the-offbeats.com/articles/cavart-between-archaism-and-futurism/
