A Laboratory of Unexpected Nature

A Laboratory of Unexpected Nature aims to study the urban system of the city of Rome to generate a dynamic and composite discussion of the role of the nature, from the untamed to the domestic, in connection with the built city. The extraordinary natural apparatus of this complex and heterogeneous city – from spontaneous vegetation to controlled landscapes in historical parks, from agricultural fields to protected reserves and watercourses – can take form in the definition of a vast ecological network, in which architecture, culture and nature nurture one another. In an era of climate crisis, this urban hypothesis can help us redefine the metropolis of the future, with benefit to ecology, the environment and liveability.