Architect Marco Casamonti and Studio Archea, together with Moroso and Ceipo, participated in the Beijing Design Week with a small Earthen Library – the “Terreria”: an installation, at the same time pavilion, library and location for performances in operation from 25 September to 6 October which has put the inhabitants of the neighbourhood centre stage in an interactive process. Through the rediscovery of the Chinese living tradition, characterised by houses essentially made of earth, the Terreria, made of ceramics, proved to be ideal for the realisation of this small virtual library in the ancient fabric of the city of Beijing. Composed of 128 elements, it has hosted a happening directed by a Chinese director, who has reinterpreted scenes of neighbourhood life and the most typical activities taking place inside the library, which could act in the future as a local reference point for book sharing.
To launch the initiative, on 25 September, a happening involved all residents of the neighbourhood, who started the book sharing action by bringing along one they had already read and taking another one they would have liked to read. The books collected in this way have been the starting point for the activity of the neighbourhood library.
The event was preceded by the distribution throughout the neighbourhood of hundreds of small bonbonnière containing the instructions on how to use and mount the Terreria and the explanation of the event.
