In the midst of the Green New Deal debate, the idea is to construct a working and living environment immersed in vegetation, symbolizing Nature reclaiming its spaces while remaining in harmony with humans.

The European Parliament is the first place to start, not only for its symbolic value as a Europe seeking its political identity but also for its operational role: it is the place designated for drafting laws that, to be truly effective and in defense of Nature, must be written by individuals who have developed a genuine connection with Nature.

Marco Zullo, Member of the European Parliament
09.07.2020, Bruxelles (BE)
www.marcozullo.it

It's not necessary for an office to have 'the look of an office'; it certainly must be equipped, but it doesn't have to be inhospitable and impersonal. When I started collaborating with Marco Zullo, the office makeover was the first aspect we focused on.

The goal wasn't simply ornamental; I believe that those who legislate cannot be anything less than excellent caregivers among other things. Being able to keep a plant alive speaks to one's ability to care for something living. Keeping a plant alive means observing and understanding its needs. It means helping it grow. In this new legislative term, which will be 'the mandate of the Green New Deal,' I believe these skills are more necessary than ever.

So, I proposed to him to redesign the office in a way that would assess and, if necessary, learn and train these skills. We chose many plants, one of which was the Mimosa Pudica, because of its peculiarity (hence its name) to close and fold its leaves when touched.

The idea for the 'Nature Calls Nature' project comes from here: one day, when asking one of the collaborators for information about the state of the plants, his response, 'The mimosa moves, so it works,' surprised me. The idea that a plant could unwittingly be perceived as something inanimate that mechanically moves instead of as a living being made us reflect on how much we need to reacquaint ourselves with Nature. We keep it separate from our lives. It's almost absent from our homes, from workplaces, which in many cases could be lush gardens instead; we often relegate it only to vacation moments, imagining it only in exotic and distant places.

Nature Calls Nature is born with the intention of generating a closer and more continuous relationship with Nature.

Dr.ssa Maria Letizia Trento, Head of Local and Institutional Affairs
09.07.2020, Bologna (IT)
www.marialetiziatrento.it

The idea of transforming a part of the interior space of the European Parliament arises to address all these environmental problems that are increasingly evident in the spaces we inhabit. To represent a new idea of nature that is inseparable from humans as an integral part of ecological processes, an installation was conceived where nature and artifice are interconnected, imagining a process of both cultural and economic change to regenerate our way of acting.

Dr.ssa Sara Landi, Prof. Arch. Valerio Morabito, GREENARCO
09.07.2020, Bologna (IT)