«Either I’m nobody or I’m a nation» D.Walcott
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
These are the words that push us towards having a vision for a true symbol of Europe. The main idea of the project is brought out by the definition of Europe “ the old continent”, this was the name that used to resemble a geographical region in good part surrounded by water, the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
Europe is every nation; it is every culture that resides in it,it is in every language,Europe is in every poetical verse written. The location that relates to the symbol of Europe cannot be bound to the concept of geographical boundaries,to a specific area, why we had the idea to chose a location that does not find itself in any of the European nations but at the same time it contains them all gives the life:the Med. Sea and its Waterways.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
European identity is seen under formal aspects and with little ideology; the choice to find a location that creates a setting in an area would force the inhabitant to move towards that place to discover his own vision of the Euro culture.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
We have the idea of a sovereign static location is abandoned that is why we chose the European seas and waterways, because the European ideals must not be enclosed in a location but in a place that does not force the inhabitants to go to it but that goes itself to them.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
The “common ground” chosen identifies itself in a ship, that navigates the Med. seas and the major canals, making stops like a train in each of the European nations.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
I am no one or am I a nation…or I am both. La Quarta Figlia called “THE IV” is the name given to Europa’s ship, symbolizing the contemporary birth of the union between Zeus and Europa, mythological icon that in some way recalls the historical-cultural vocation of Greece always present in European civilization. As the myth narrates the name Quarta actually stands for “fourth”,due to the presence of three brothers.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
“Figlia”,(daughter),denotes a metaphorical ship that is self-completing both physically and culturally in each and every stage of it’s journey.Greece gives origin to this new route of ideological embracement:“La Quarta” represents the physical transposition of the European spirit, reaching all the 27 nations that conform it,and it is in each one of these stages that the ship acquires it’s form,filling itself,becoming,indicating some sort of movement and change.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
“La Quarta” will navigate once more historical navigational routes, through the Med. Sea, and through rivers such as the Danube,Reno,to the point of reaching that’s regions found inland.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
The ship’s structure and functionality is based on green power and renewable resources, the structure is in fact made from many of the abandoned shipwrecks of the Greek islands,one of these is the relict of the Zante, that will offer various functionalities.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.
Energy wise there will be a wind powered system that will at the same time use the streams and currents as a source of energy, and photovoltaic modules on top of the ship.
© officina1441 . Published on April 21, 2013.