Ruta Perminaite

Project Location
Naples, Italy

Topic
Utopia
New Ways of Living, Production and Consumption Systems

Program
Landscape
Regeneration

Vertical and horizontal, ecological and social protection of crumbling edge.

Paradise on the Edge encourages a new way of communal living following a clean environment vision whilst protecting the edge between the crumbling Naples land and the constantly moving sea. The proposal rebuilds the connections between ecology and health, for a more holistic approach to the contemporary crisis of survival. 

Climate change and ecological disasters pose significant threats to our urban environments. Paradise On The Edge explores new means to inhabit the coastal edge of Posillipo, Naples with slim vertical habitable units inspired by the local context. The vertical structures harness the energy of the sea while also protecting the edge from erosion caused by the rise of sea level. The facades change in colour when reacting to some chemicals to indicate the quality of water and air. The intervention also critiques social inequality in Italy shedding light on the Roman baths as a metaphor for social segregation. In response, a proposal for new baths offers a platform for social change and space available for all.

Stemming from the need for an alternative discourse and a critical form of architectural practice that engages with spatial, social and environmental realities, the intervention nourishes, stitches and heals the erosion affected edge of Naples while also empowering women. Paradise on the Edge is based within the cliff and acts as the catalyst between the water, land, environment and people. It is a futuristic model of living that does not need the outer world to function and can fully perform by harnessing local sustainable resources. The proposal rebuilds the connections between ecology and health, for a more holistic approach to the contemporary crisis of survival. The site accommodates two primary functions: the women’s baths and cliff protection. Horizontal Protection intervention criticises Roman baths and instead of the primary user being an aristocrat, it is given to the unprivileged. Migrant and Italian Women participate in Baths Rituals to reinvent themselves while also inhabiting Vertical Units that protect the crumbling edge. Vertical Units that are self- sufficient become protectors of the edge and clean water. Self-cleaning buildings purify polluted seawater, desalinate water for baths and indicate Climate change by harnessing natural resources. By harnessing wind, waves and solar the project is looking to create a new utopian living example that is self-sufficient and rather than taking away, it gives back to the environment. The project unites the community to strengthen its environment. Paradise on the Edge encourages a new way of communal living following a clean environment vision whilst protecting the edge between the crumbling land and the constantly moving sea. The Design Project takes the idea of edge re-inhabitation and works on the dark secrets of Naples to eliminate the stigma around it.