Wind as a signal

At its core, a storm is a movement, a sudden friction between elements. When we speak of a "catastrophe," we often describe our own gaze colliding with a landscape we have arranged and learned to rely on. A disaster marks a moment of suspension, a sudden halt when the familiar course of things meets a boundary. The balance we projected onto our environment shifts, leaving us face to face with the raw force of the event.

In 2018, Storm Vaia swept through the Dolomites, manifesting this friction on a massive scale. Millions of trees were uprooted in a matter of hours. Among them were the legendary resonant spruces of the Fiemme Valley, the very same wood Stradivarius relied on for his violins, alongside timber traditionally harvested for our architecture and our furniture. Suddenly, the living material we use to construct our daily lives and shape our culture was scattered across the forest floor.

Yet the wind is also an energy that circulates, clears paths, and initiates transformation. This workshop approaches this sudden imbalance as an opening to recalibrate our relationship with our surroundings. We will ask: how do we turn the wind into a signal? A signal is first and foremost a visual marker turning in the breeze, a kinetic movement, and a wind-driven structure. Branching out from this mechanical presence, it could equally be an acoustic resonance and a conceptual gesture. It is an opportunity to give a shape and a voice to an invisible energy.

During this workshop, students will conceptualize and design primarily wind-powered structures and kinetic visual signs, as well as sound-making devices, that react to the air currents of Arte Sella. Designing with the memory and the potential of the fallen forest in mind, we will engage with the wind as a productive, creative energy. The concepts developed during our time together will propose a different way to interact with the landscape. Ultimately, the final results of this workshop could later be realized and produced by Arte Sella as permanent signage for the park, turning the traces of the storm into an ongoing, living dialogue with the elements.