The Wunderkammer of LAND opens its doors with the ‘20 YEARS OF GREEN RAYS’ exhibition
The exhibition space, located via Varese 12, commissioned by Andreas Kipar, CEO and co-founder of LAND, tells the story of the innovative urban regeneration strategy capable of propelling Milan towards a more sustainable urban future.
A colourful green environment in which to wonder and understand the importance of reconnecting with Nature. An urban transformation process has been underway for two decades, inspired by a dynamic and innovative landscape vision. These are the ingredients of the ’20 Years of Green Rays’ Exhibition being held in Milan via Varese 12, a few steps away from the Italian headquarters of LAND, an international landscape consulting company founded in 1990 on the initiative of architect and landscape architect Andreas Kipar.
“The exhibition ’20 years of Green Rays’ at the Wunderkammer represents a further step in a strategy started at the beginning of the century in the Milanese landscape and is part of an initiative bound to gather in a single exhibition space the best projects and developments of the areas we have renovated in the course of more than three decades of the firm’s activity,” says Andreas Kipar. “A crucial milestone on the timeline of LAND’s history, always open to constant evolution, is now the subject of an exhibition, available to landscape architects, urban planners and architects, but also to Milanese people interested in the sustainable future of their city. “
Raggi verdi wall (LAND)
The exhibition refers to the lively process of transformation of Milan’s capital city that began in the 1980s when the disused industrial sites in some central areas made way for innovative development plans and territorial regeneration. These are the foundations of the Green Rays project, born in 2003 to provide Milan, a pioneer city in urban ecology, with a sustainable model. Two years later, in 2005, with the Associazione Interessi Metropolitani, the ‘Green Rays for Milan’ strategic master plan was drawn up. An initiative animated by a disruptive spirit, which can also be perceived in the manifesto of the exhibition, curated by architect Erica Boncaldo and art director Raikhan Musrepova.
“I would not dare to call ourselves inventors; the environment already provides us with all the bases to start. We aim to break to cultivate something new, creating inclusive projects that reconnect people with Nature,” Kipar continues. “The exhibition follows the perspective of decentralisation from the city core that we have been pursuing for some time and is fuelled by the need to establish an ongoing dialogue between urban planning and architecture with the conscious use of greenery, open spaces and landscape.”
The Green Rays master plan proposes an innovative strategy for Milan’s open space system: the densely built-up part of the city has already taken on a different form, designed to accommodate green areas and public squares. The work continues with implementing a network of pedestrian and bicycle paths to integrate existing and new open spaces. Starting from the Spanish walls, eight green rays radiating from the city centre will extend throughout the urban area and culminate in a 72 km long green belt on the outskirts of Milan.
Green Rays of Milan (LAND)
By connecting the centre and the periphery through a single system, the Green Rays will increase urban permeability by fostering social cohesion and restoring the cityscape. An alternative and informative connecting element that, while respecting the identity of the place, allows inhabitants and visitors to re-appropriate their everyday lives through soft mobility. On foot, by bicycle or scooter. For a city on an increasingly human scale.
The Wunderkammer, a captivating collection of diverse materials representing LAND’s multifaceted activities, has been brought to life at the initiative of Andreas Kipar, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of our studio’s founding in 1990. This unique space was masterfully crafted by Luca Molinari Studio, in collaboration with Leftloft, responsible for the layout and graphics. The Wunderkammer not only showcases over 80 remarkable projects but also serves as a vibrant hub for meetings and discussions. It’s the ideal setting for engaging dialogues and thought-provoking round table sessions featuring prominent figures from the realms of landscape, architecture, art, and culture. Together, we aim to approach the global future with greater awareness and innovation.
