︎Press, Exhibitions, Publications

︎NEWS︎

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︎June 2023

Unearthing New Ecologies - Design for Symbiocene Epoque Unit 7 students' projects are exhibited at The Bartlett Summer Show 2023

Our students' works will be showcased at The Bartlett Summer Show, an occasion to celebrate dynamic, radical and innovative design by nearly 900 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Cristina Morbi, Lecturer The Bartlett School of Architecture, MEng

Opening on June 23rd at The Bartlett School of Architecture

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︎June 2023

Our publication on Nature/Artifice Dualism is now online and open access

Augmented Territories is a radical essay on the materical aspect of technology. It poetically investigates the fundamental role of the matter in crafting the technologies of each era.

“Materia (matter), as being the passive role that mother (mater) plays in conception.” - Cristina Morbi, Augmented Territories. Essay and comment to Bruno Zamborlin Hypersurfaces

The essay is part of “DUALISM MANIFESTO. Design challenges for the XXI Century” edited by Giovanna Piccinno. It is an open-access book presenting a speculative, emergent and often radical approach to designing, gathering also experimental teaching and learning results collected during the six-year coordination period of the Master of Science in Interior and Spatial Design at the Politecnico di Milano - School of Design from 2016 to 2021.

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︎June 2023

Torre Maggese explores the relationship between human rituals and agricultural land

Torre Maggese explores the concept of rest, the counterpart of action, and the forgotten side of growth. The art piece is archetypical, symbolising repose, pause and otium. It explores the relationship between art and agricultural land through the practice of fallow (Maggese in Italian). When Torre Maggese appears in a landscape, it means that the soil around it is resting. The artwork acts as a nourishing presence. It is an ephemeral architecture; it can be mounted, dismounted and moved to another field. An ‘ancient meadow’ of fodder crops (piante foraggere) will grow around Torre Maggese. People will disperse the seeds in the field around it, leaving a polyphite meadow as a trace of this seeding ritual. These practices replenish mineral nutrients, fix nitrogen and fertilise the soil.

Design: Maetherea (Cristina Morbi, Aurora Destro, Giorgia Mazzetti)

Torre Maggese won an Honorable Mention in the Art On The Top international design award in collaboration with YAC - Young Architect Competitions.

“Celebrate the growing and giving of good food as the highest gift is the most revolutionary act.” - Vandana Shiva

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︎June 2023

The Iron Reef has been installed on the shore of River Yare in Norfolk

This amphibious metallic structure is a permanent installation designed to interact with the wind and the winter tides. This Public Art commission by Norfolk County Council forms the Norfolk Way Art Trail together with three other dynamic artworks. The inauguration will be in October 2023!

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︎May 2023

Sundial is a gesture in the landscape that works as a natural device, including the phenological observation of heliotropic characteristics of vegetal species. Different species of heliotropic flowers in bloom create a vegetal clock. Slowly tracking the sun’s path across the sky, these flowers are believed to use heliotropism to improve pollination, fertilisation, and seed development.

Pictures and video by Giulia Maretti Studio

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︎May 2023

Our latest installation for Supergau_festival Sundial is an astral geometry. It invites you to position your body in relationship to the movements of the Sun. Connecting the Land to the Sky, its shadows indicates the passage of time.. In this way, an ephemeral structure becomes a ‘naked-eye observatory’. Different species of heliotropic flowers in bloom create a vegetal clock, slowly tracking the sun’s path across the sky. This creates a symbiosis between art and its environment.

Special Thanks to:
Botanischer.garten.salzburg for caring and growing our Heliotropic Species
Manfred Jackob for all the wonderful help in making the Sundial real

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︎March 2023

Construction of our Vegetal Clock - Sundial has started in Mariapfarr - Lungau - Austria
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︎February 2023

Field Trip with our students from The Bartlett School of Architecture MEng visiting Milan, Italy. A special thanks to Fondazione Prada for the wonderful insights over the refurbishment by OMA.
Our students investigated the relationship between Brownfields and the public domain through caferul architectural actions rewilding the urban fabric through art and nature. We have been guests of Teatro Arcimboldi, guided by Giulia Pellegrino, and the backstage of Design Week ‘ Vietato l’Ingresso ‘. A special thanks to LAND Milano for guiding us to a tour to their Urban projects in Gae Aulenti and Biblioteca degli ALberi.
Tutors: Cristina Morbi, Francesco Banchini, Yi Zhang
Course: Architectural Design and Engineering, MEng, Y3, Y4

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︎September 2022

Our visit toSalzburg Botanicl Garden for our collaboration with Universität Salzburg. The wonderful garden hosts numerous species of pollinators and native plants, researching the effect of Climate Change in the phenology of the alpine landscape. We collaborated with the Botanical Garden for our latest austrian project, selecting native heliotropic species.

Heliotropic flowers track the Sun’s motion across the sky from east to west. During the night, the flowers may assume a random orientation, while at dawn they turn again toward the east where the Sun rises. The motion is performed by motor cells in a flexible segment just below the flower, called a pulvinus. The motor cells are specialized in pumping potassium ions into nearby tissues, changing their turgor pressure. The segment flexes because the motor cells at the shadow side elongate due to a turgor rise. This is considered to be turgor-mediated heliotropism. For plant organs that lack pulvini, heliotropism can occur through irreversible cell expansion producing particular growth patterns. This form of heliotropism is considered to be growth-mediated. Heliotropism is a response to light from the Sun.

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︎September 2022

Maetherea has been commissioned a new exciting Public Art Project at St Michael’s Square in Croydon, London.

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︎June 2022

Maetherea - Cristina Morbi, shortlisted in the category Young Professionals Portfolio 2022 by Landzine International Landscape Award
Jury:
João Nunes proap.pt
Robin Winogrond robinwinogrond.ch
Sarah Cowles ruderal.com
Hanneke Kijne morelandscape.nl
Zaš Brezar www.landezine.com

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︎June 2022

Maetherea work and research published in the Italian Newspaper ‘Il Nuovo Torrazzo’,
‘The poetry of Places: Investigated by Cristina Morbi in her London Studio. Exploring innovation, art and mutations around the world“. An Article by Luca Guerini

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︎June 2022

Aeterica Maetherea Project for Supergau Public Art has been selected among 400 entries for Supergau festival 2023... Aurora Destro presented the Sundial project during the first Residency at Lungau, together with the 15 Artists selected.

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︎June 2022

Maetherea entry for Farnham Public Art has been Shortlisted
We had the chance to present the project to the wonderful Farnham Council and the Professional Panel

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︎May 2022

Cristina Morbi Exhibition at MAKING MATTERS: CREATURE Research Group.

6th May - 13th May 2022 (Opening times: Mon-Fri 2pm-6pm)

Private view on Thursday 5th May, 5:30pm-8pm - Welcome notes will include contributions by Prof. Matthew Barac and Dr Jacek Ludwig Scarso.

The Wash Houses - Aldgate Campus, London Metropolitan University

Exhibitors George Fereday Francesca Filatondi Maria-Irina Georgescu Johanna Hallsten Simone ten Hompel James Hunting Cristina Morbi Kaye Newman Gina Pierce Wendy Ross Jane Turner Samuel Wingate

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︎April 2022

Cristina Morbi - Maetherea - New Italian Blood Special Guest
We’re delighted to communicate our Nomination as Special Guest for the New Italian Blood - Landscape Architecture.

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︎January 2022

Cristina Morbi - London Metropolitan University
a great thank you to the AAD Architecture Art and Design London Metropolitan, which published an article on our Iron Reef and the Bio-Integrated work of Lecturer Cristina Morbi

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︎January 2022

Iron Reef Win Public Vote and the Commission for the Norfolk Art Way Trail
Iron Reef won the first place by public vote among the Norfolk Art Trail proposal. Team: Cristina Morbi, Aurora Destro, Cristina Brena
The project designed by Maetherea will be constructed by March 2023.

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︎December 2021

Iron Reef Shortlisted for Norfolk Art Trail

We are excited to finally announce that our design for the Norfolk Art Trail has been shortlisted for the Reedham Ferry Inn Location. You can vote our proposal among many other artists and designers inspiring work
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︎November 2021

Woolwich Print Art Festival - Selected Artist

We’re extremely pleased to be part of 2021 Woolwich Art Festival Showcasing the best in international contemporary printmaking & formulating new approaches to contemporary print with over 500 artists & specialist galleries at Londons latest landmark creative destination. A collaboration with Kristina Chan.

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︎January 2021

Arcana Nature Artifice
We have been excited to work with the Philosoper Emanuele Coccia for the set of Major Arcana Nature-Artifice. The arcana set interwave the meaning of the traditional Visconti-Sforza arcana set, designed by Brembo Cicognara in 1451. Each Major Arcana has been translated in a symblolic glossary of design issues on the theme of Nature and Artifice, for the 2021 interdisciplinary Workshop of Politecnico di Milano, Lead by Professor Giovanna Piccinno, Elisa Cattaneo and Emanuele Coccia.
As in the dadaist game of Cadavre exquis, we created for each issue a card, allusion and symbolic meaning are translatedwith mixed media. They are completed by the aphorism written for each card by Emanuele Coccia, inspired by emblem literature and latind Palindrome.

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︎October 2020

Exhibition of Piscina Mirabilis at Bacoli, Naples - Selected as Innovative Proposal for Reuse Italy Italian Ruin
Team: Aurora Destro, Cristina Morbi

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︎August 2020

Piscine Mirabilis - Bacoli
Competition ReuseItaly: Reuse the Roman Ruin
Result: SPECIAL SELECTION FOR INNOVATIVE PROPOSALS
Team: Aurora Destro, Cristina Morbi
Brief: The second edition of the cultural project Reuse Italy promotes an international architecture competition on the reuse of Piscina Mirabilis, a Roman reservoir located in the countryside of Naples. The contest is powered by a partnership with ArchDaily, KooZA/rch, 120g, EX32, and with the official support of the Parco Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei, the Minicipality of Bacoli (Naples) and the FAI.
Juror: Fala Atelier (Filipe Magalhães, Ana Luisa Soares & Ahmed Belkhodja), DNA Architecture (Xu Tiantian), KooZA/rc (Federica Sofia Zambeletti), Open- fabric (Francesco Garofalo), Fernando Guerra, Enorme Studio (Carmelo Rodríguez & Rocío Pina), Peter Guthrie, SET Architects (Lorenzo Catena, Onorato di Manno & Andrea Tanci), ArchDaily (Diego Hernandez).

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︎June 2020

Kristina Chan Wondeful Prints with DETHUN - Cadavre Exquis
Limited Edition presented to Royal Accademy London

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︎January 2020

Maetherea Invited Designer and Artists to its launch event, CADAVRE EXQUIS, with Patricia Stadler at the BargeHouse in London.

In 1925, on a winter night in Paris, the Cadavre Exquis was born from the surrealist imagination of Andre Breton, Marcel du Champ, and Yves Tanguy.The term Exquisite Corpse refers to a collective assembly of images and words. It is an exercise in appropriation and applied creativity. It doesn’t tell the story of a single frame, but stratification of narratives, each unique and recognizable, overlapped in time.5 Tables. 5 Talks. 25 Designers.We will re-live the Dadaist parlor experiment collectively generating unpredictable designs. The process of appropriation is the mechanism. Letting go is the key.In this our inaugural event. over the course of the evening, 5 invited artists, designers and architects will speak. This is a symposium of Natural Technology and Digital Biodynamics. We are interested in seeing output from these overlapped discussions. How we shape nature in a non-real world? How do we interlock biological features and digital landscapes?

Cristina Morbi Presented the Concept of Surralist Parlour an Appropriation as process of Design. Design Art and Architecture Symposium.
Talk and Simultaneous Design. Kristina Chan – Lucid Dreams in Printed Landscapes. Gabriel Tanase – Ethereal to Pixels. Bruno Zamborlin – Hyperfurfaces. Diane Chappalley – Psychological Landscapes. Alicia Hidalgo – Ethereal Non-Natura.
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︎January 2020

DETHUN Cristina Morbi Invited to Present Concept Generation of Performative Landscape to CGLA Landscape Architecture Team
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︎May 2020

Student projects from the Climate Performance design workshop by Markus Jatsch and Cristina Morbi at the PolitecnBroken Nature exhibition at the Triennale di Milano
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︎January 2019

Students Work Presented to Milan President of Zona 9 - The visionary projects of the Students of 1st Year Master Degree in Interior and Spatial Design - Landscape Desin Course
Scalo Farini - Urban Temporary Tactics
Professor: Giovanna Piccinno, Cristina Morbi, Osvaldo Pogliani, Marco Barsottini
Assistants: Daniele Mazzingi, Alice Zingales

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︎February 2018

Climate Performance Workshop at Politecnico di Milano, Markus Jatsch and Cristina Morbi for the second year collaborated with Giovanna Piccinno for the Interdisciplinar Workshop, Landscape, Interior and Ephemeral Design, on the topic of Climate Performance, lateral thinking on climate change and urban design solutions.
Video Credit: Zhou Kang
Professori: Giovanna Piccinno (Interdisciplinary Workshop Coordinator), Markus Jatsch (Lead Visiting Professor Interdisciplinary Workshop), Cristina Morbi (Tutor Visiting Professor Interdisciplinary Workshop)
Assistent: Alice Zingales, Daniele Mazzinghi
Students Assistent: Kristina Miskute, Gaia Brambilla
Criticsi: Luca Guerrini, Giulia Gerosa

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︎February 2018

Climate Performance Workshop at Politecnico di Milano, Markus Jatsch and Cristina Morbi invite Giotto, artist using sinaesthetic improvisation to translate students’ work into Piano compositions.