In this new series, we wish to highlight the value of models in the widest possible sense, from images to physical representations to diagrams … It’s about models, and modalities and modulations that formed them. It investigates the role of abstraction in representation, how all sorts of models serve as a communication device and also as a tool in the design process itself.

We start with Openfabric, a Dutch-Italian practice founded by Francesco Garofalo. 

The saltworks of Molentargius are a complex system of natural habitats, water ponds and derelict industrial infrastructure. Since the decommissioning of the extraction activity, occurred in 1985, the site has been undergoing a process of renaturalization, that has transformed the area in an extremely rich biodiversity hot spot, becoming one of the most important flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) breeding sites of the Mediterranean.

Oktyabrsky island, is a partially artificial land which demanded massive investment to be realized. The project of the Park aims to be sustainable both financially and technically. The excavated land from the perimetrical canal, is reused in order to form a hill, unique symbol of the future park.

“Revealing Geometries” takes shape physically and conceptually, from the fact that ruins can become –as a radical form of preservation- the matrix for a new identity, and similarly, untamed nature the matrix for a rich natural ecosystem. The recognition of the site as a form of archeological park – gives the opportunity to secure in time and space the traces of the past, transforming them into a new cultural/education infrastructure at public disposal.

The “Parco della Reggia di Rivalta” although its empty appearance, is a ground that has been occupied by several functions over time: it has been administered by several owners, and it has gone through both splendor and decay. In the public imagination, the park is associated with the garden realized in the first half of the 18th century – now lost – where the reference to Versailles Garden was sharp and recognizable. Yet, the site has been witnessing a number of histories and not just one. The plurality of the past traces become main ingredients of the design, a palimpsest which doesn’t give priority only to the historical garden, but also refers to the different epochs, including its rural past and its current use as a public park.

For the Agro Tourism Albania project, Openfabric collaborated with MasterChef Albania winner Arber Togani to connect landscape architecture with culinary traditions. By exploring the region’s agro-biodiversity, they uncovered forgotten ingredients tied to local traditions. Togani used these elements to create contemporary dishes, reinterpreting regional flavours. This culinary approach became a way of understanding and innovating the landscape, bridging agriculture, tourism, and design, and using food as a tool for landscape analysis and cultural revival.

The aim of ‘Altitudes’ is to reorganise a currently inefficient coffee production chain, demonstrating the touristic potential of the area, whilst creating the conditions for the region to move beyond the monoculture of coffee and its fragile single-commodity economy. The economy of coffee is extremely volatile – a condition evident in the annual glaring discontinuity of supply and demand – and this imbalance is heightened by the patterns of the changing climate.

Migrating Mediterranean – Mountain Range, represents the Mediterranean Sea as a mountain system. The bathymetry is inverted, becoming positive topography exposing the orographic complexity of the usually submerged part of the “Mare Nostrum”.

Located amid Lagodekhi Natural Reserve in eastern Georgia, the Tree Top Trail is meant to maximize the experience of nature, intended as -in the words of David Attenborough, “the greatest source of excitement, beauty and intellectual interest”. The trail, takes advantage of the topography in order to avoid the use of an elevator. The access point is located on a higher point of the uneven terrain and, from there, it ramps up to reach greater heights, gradually showcasing the forest as a vertical ecosystem.

Openfabric’s proposal for Het Breed, a modernist neighborhood in Amsterdam North designed by Frans Van Gool in 1963, redefines the central area with “Gridgrounds.” This elongated public square, measuring 88m x 17m, becomes the new neighborhood centre where all pathways converge. The design draws inspiration from the original grid layout of the neighborhood, made tangible through white marking lines across the asphalt. At the grid’s intersections, modernist play elements, inspired by Aldo van Eyck’s playgrounds, are playfully situated to enhance the space.

The mining heritage of the site is both visible in the geography of the area and in the low air quality: the site lies in the Black Triangle, one of the most polluted area in Europe. Confronted by the ambiguity of the current lake contour, which is not natural, nor artificial, our design -defined by a rectangular geometry- overlaps with the existing coastline defining a new clear shape. The project defines a highly flexible recreation-oriented system of paths and piers, from which – the Red Rectangle – unfolds.

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