Saline Joniche is located in the rich coastal landscape of Southern Italy with abundant natural resources, which suffered continuous degradation through industrial activities and has been left abandoned. Obsessed with short-term productivity for too long without evaluating the risks of such a mindset, the goal is to recover this damaged area. The project proposes a flooded landscape at the mouth of multiple natural watercourses, generating an ecosystem filled with flora and fauna, and a special focus on migrating birds.

This process will occur naturally, and the resulting landscape will evolve adding new species of vegetation and wildlife. The project broadens the thoughts around the concept of ruin; humanity’s constructed artefacts will be kept as they are and integrated into the process of the restoration. A shape shifting ecosystem is born, connecting nature with the imprints left by humans.

The coastal area of Saline Joniche stretches for 8km along the Strait of Messina and faces the famed Mt Etna volcano. It is a part of the municipality of Montebello Ionico. The aim of this project is to restore a natural balance and to redress years of degradation caused by human activity. Humanity’s footprint must be retained as a reminder of the dangers of unbalanced growth.

The aim of the project’s developer, Reggio Calabria’s government, is to transform Saline Joniche into a worldwide reference for the recovery of industrial areas in a sustainable context. 

The project seeks to recover the lost connections erased by exhausted industrial developments, taking advantage of the footprints that have been left behind.

This process will fulfill itself in a natural manner, and the resulting flooded landscape where a number of natural streams meet will evolve adding new species of vegetation and wildlife, and aspires to be a haven for migrating birds. As part of nature, humans must be capable of reaching a balanced state with the new medium. Amidst this landscape, a giant chimney, symbol of the industrial voracity, brings a message of hope. The chimney opens its new arms to Saline Joniche, and with a system of solar energy capacitors, the birds will be visible during the day, and a lighthouse will guide the ships through the Strait of Messina at night.

The 10ha plus “Officine di Grandi Riparazioni”, another abandoned location where Southern Italy’s trains where once repaired, will transform itself into a polluted soil recycling plant, an enormous plant nursery for reforestation, a renewable energies plant, and a laboratory. A museum that shows the process of recovering damaged areas and records the memories of degraded areas around the globe: and demonstrates a proven process for recovering damaged areas.

The projects offers a chance for us to reunite ourselves with our past, managing the ruins. A series of flooded landscapes filled with old fashioned industrial structures will be used as a new home for the wildlife and greenery. This is the perfect framework for corporate headquarters of brands concerned with nature/sustainability. The project broadens the thoughts around the concept of ruins, connecting two important landmarks: Pentedattilo, an abandoned village from the late 1800s, victim of an earthquake and the Laura C, a shipwreck near the coast, scuttled during World War II. Two unexpected examples of how human actions can develop rich ecosystems.