13th Architecture Biennale Venice – Live and Green, Bosco Italia.

Bosco Italia, the consummate green work at the Venice Biennale and a must for our showcase. An 800-square-metre indoor garden comprising about 5000 plants where visitors can take a break amidst Italian undergrowth.



Filtered light, damp air, the aroma of soil and moss together with the many shades of green present in the Italian undergrowth, all set the tone for the project created by architecture firm, OSA architettura e paesaggio in the Italian pavilion, curated by Luca Zevi. It brings to life abandoned and rediscovered landscapes, land before and after it was farmed, Italian landscapes that have undergone much change.





The forests and all the different forest floors have also been subject to human intervention so they should be considered landscapes in a garden mould. A mingling of environmental aspects and human interests in a territory whose geographic shape – the famous boot – makes the woodlands an ecological matrix of the national territory and as a result, places of the community.



OSA’s “Bosco Italia” introduces visitors to this magical world, brought to life by the Torsanlorenzo, group, technical sponsor of all the plants used in the 13th international architecture exhibition, representing the Italian tradition of the floriculture industry.



So, the only thing left is to personally experience this primeval world made of plants that can live in a closed environment for three months, ferns first and foremost. Although not all of them are native to Italy, some of the plants here have lived on earth for 350 million years, thus giving the whole arrangement a strong symbolic value.



13th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice, http://www.labiennale.org
Dates: 29th August to 25th November 2012.
Italian pavilion, “Bosco Italia”, project by OSA, http://www.osaweb.it/
Arsenale, Venezia
Photos: Courtesy of OSA architettura e paesaggio, http://www.osaweb.it/, courtesy of the Italian Pavilion,13th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice
Plants: TORSANLORENZO group, http://www.gruppotorsanlorenzo.com
Links: Biennale, /www.floornature.com/overview-architecture-news/news-13th-international-architecture-exhibition-venice-8089/, Italian pavilion, http://www.floornature.com/architecture-news/news-italian-architecture-from-adriano-olivetti-to-the-green-economy-8138/