Young Architects Program International

MAXXI Architettura, the architecture department of Italy’s National Museum of Twenty-First Century Arts, in Rome, has participated in the Young Architects Program since 2011. This year, MAXXI presents Corte's installation Great Land, a portion of landscape set in the museum courtyard. Great Land is a piece of rural life in an urban setting that allows people to gather together, lie on the ground, and nourish the body and soul.

The soil is contained in a large rectangular tray that is open on its two short sides. The artificial features of the container—its wooden structure and surface finish—create a strong visual contrast with the bucolic landscape housed inside it. The piece of land is characterized by an interchange of slopes and flat parts that allows multiple experiences: entertainment and dynamism on the stage and in fountain areas, and relaxation in the more intimate valleys. The vegetation is diverse: trees with thick foliage and portions of lawn alternate with more luxuriant areas characterized by herbs and grasses. Picnic blankets, like rectangular pixels arranged on the lawn, become a visual reminder of consumption and suggest more spontaneous enjoyment. Some can be freely arranged according to visitors’ needs.