{"id":472521,"date":"2026-02-11T09:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T09:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/472521\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T09:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T09:11:13","slug":"leopold-banchini-shifts-focus-from-tombs-to-dwelling-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/472521\/","title":{"rendered":"leopold banchini shifts focus from tombs to dwelling in italy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>leopold banchini shifts focus from necropolis to dwelling<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the valley of Pantalica, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/architecture-in-italy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Italy<\/a>, where more than 4,000 rock-cut tombs line the cliffs above the Anapo River, architect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/leopold-banchini\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Leopold Banchini<\/a> introduces Asympta, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/temporary-pavilions\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">temporary micro-architecture<\/a> that shifts attention away from the necropolis and toward the unknown architecture of the living.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Installed in Ortigia in 2025 and traveling to Pantalica in 2026 for the COSMO festival, the structure reflects on the prehistoric civilization embedded within the Syracusa\u2013Pantalica UNESCO World Heritage landscape, proposing a speculative shelter rooted in place rather than in archaeological reconstruction.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The structure is assembled from materials sourced within the region, including lava <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/marble-and-stone-design\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">stone<\/a> from Mount Etna, local <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/wood-and-timber-architecture\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">wood<\/a> sealed by fire, Pietra Pece limestone, bronze, and sheep wool felt. These elements are treated as tectonic components that situate the installation within eastern Sicily\u2019s geological and craft traditions and define a shaded space intended for gathering, pause, and reflection. The choice of fire-sealed wood and volcanic stone reinforces the project\u2019s dialogue with elemental forces, combustion, sedimentation, and extraction, processes that have shaped both the land and its cultures.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1177186 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"leopold banchini shifts focus from tombs to dwelling through speculative shelter in italy\" width=\"818\" height=\"654\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/leopold-banchini-focus-tombs-dwelling-speculative-shelter-pantalica-italy-designboom-04.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>all images by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simonebossi.it\/photographer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Simone Bossi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Asympta: speculating beyond the necropolis in pantalica, italy<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While Pantalica\u2019s funerary landscape is monumental and extensively documented, little is known about how its inhabitants once built their homes. The scarcity of domestic remains suggests lightweight construction techniques and the use of local organic materials, long since disappeared. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.leopoldbanchini.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Geneva-based <\/a>Leopold Banchini Architects approaches the site through conjecture, imagining how architectures and cosmologies might have emerged from the specific topography, climate, and material resources of the valley.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The project distances itself from archaeological authority and fixed historical timelines, and it stages a fictional yet materially grounded hypothesis. The temporary installation echoes the provisional quality of early domestic structures, positioning architecture as an adaptive framework shaped by landscape, necessity, and shared use.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1177185 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"leopold banchini shifts focus from tombs to dwelling through speculative shelter in italy\" width=\"818\" height=\"654\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/leopold-banchini-focus-tombs-dwelling-speculative-shelter-pantalica-italy-designboom-03.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>the structure is assembled from materials sourced within the region<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>from origin myth to site-specific shelter<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Asympta\u2019s open structure subtly recalls the conical mass of Etna and the excavated voids of nearby latomie, ancient stone quarries carved into rock, two dominant presences in the surrounding territory. In doing so, the project reconsiders Marc-Antoine Laugier\u2019s Primitive Hut. Instead of framing architecture as a single, universal origin, Asympta suggests that building begins with the specificities of place.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As a temporary intervention, the installation acknowledges the ephemerality that may have characterized early domestic construction. Its lightness contrasts with the enduring stone tombs across the valley, underscoring how architecture of the living often leaves fewer traces than that of the dead.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Within the context of the COSMO festival, Asympta functions as both shelter and proposition. It invites visitors to inhabit a speculative scenario, one in which architecture emerges not from stylistic lineage but from the negotiation between landscape, material, and collective imagination.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1177183 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"leopold banchini shifts focus from tombs to dwelling through speculative shelter in italy\" width=\"818\" height=\"654\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/leopold-banchini-focus-tombs-dwelling-speculative-shelter-pantalica-italy-designboom-01.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>Asympta shifts attention away from the necropolis<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1177184 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"leopold banchini shifts focus from tombs to dwelling through speculative shelter in italy\" width=\"818\" height=\"1023\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/leopold-banchini-focus-tombs-dwelling-speculative-shelter-pantalica-italy-designboom-02.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>a temporary micro-architecture<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1177187 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"leopold banchini shifts focus from tombs to dwelling through speculative shelter in italy\" width=\"818\" height=\"1023\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/leopold-banchini-focus-tombs-dwelling-speculative-shelter-pantalica-italy-designboom-05.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>lava stone, local wood, limestone, bronze, and sheep wool felt shape the structure<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"leopold banchini shifts focus from necropolis to dwelling \u00a0 In the valley of Pantalica, Italy, where more than&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6324,449,458,459,64,63,460,134,3807,200370,29063],"class_list":{"0":"post-472521","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-architecture-in-italy","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-interactive-installation","17":"tag-leopold-banchini","18":"tag-temporary-pavilions"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}