Riviera Gaza, Boeri: "My vertical forest is incompatible with the project."
The Milan complex was held up as an example for postwar American reconstruction. The star architect: "Unacceptable and perverse, my project aims for inclusion."Per restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
The Trump administration's project, a sort of Middle Eastern Riviera in Gaza , built by displacing the Palestinian population, foreshadows an "unacceptable and perverse future." This is the view of Stefano Boeri, star architect and "father" of the Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) , the complex in Milan with two towers, 110 and 76 meters high, covered in plants and shrubs. The tower inspired the post-war American project in Gaza, reported by the Washington Post. So much so that a photo of the architect's famous work is included in the plan.
Boeri , who won the 2014 International Highrise Award with the Bosco Verticale, explained his opposition to the project by calling the Riviera Plan for Gaza "a horrendous and violent projection of an unacceptable and perverse future , which presupposes the deportation and forced diaspora of thousands of families already exposed to a constant threat of death." " I find it a dark paradox that among the inspirations there is also an image of the Bosco Verticale in Milan, " he added, "the prototype of an architecture that, on the contrary, promotes harmony with nature and the history of places and which in recent years has demonstrated around the world its ability to accommodate not only housing for the wealthy but also social housing for rent, public spaces and healthcare services."
In addition to the Bosco Verticale in Milan, Boeri—who is president of the Triennale, which organized the 24th international exhibition, this year dedicated to Inequalities—has also designed public spaces in Utrecht, residential buildings in Eindhoven, and in China, where he also designed healthcare facilities such as the Rehabilitation Center in Shenzhen. His studio, Stefano Associati Architetti, is based in Milan and has offices in Shanghai and Tirana, China.
As president of the Triennale, the architect (involved in the investigation into the competition for the construction of the EIC and the urban planning investigation in Milan) is engaged in another post-war reconstruction project, that of Ukraine, and specifically Odessa. Indeed, the Triennale, along with the MAXXI, has been involved by the government in the debate on Ukraine's reconstruction, so much so that in September 2023, Boeri and the then-president of the MAXXI, Giuli, traveled to Odessa for an initial reconnaissance of the sites to be rebuilt after the Russian bombings.
(Unioneonline)