義大利米蘭 寶特瓶紀念碑


VATRAA has opened its Plastic Monument in Milan, which has been created to draw attention to the long-lasting legacy we are leaving future generations. Its monolithic form is inspired by the heritage left by our ancestors ─ like the Pyramids, Colosseum, or Stonehenge – but this is reinterpreted for a world that is marked with plastic waste rather than brick or stone structures. The installation is the result of a 2019 YAC and National Geographic Italia international competition, which featured 1,681 entries from 86 countries. The initiative was framed in the project "Planet or Plastic?" (National Geographic's campaign to inform and raise awareness on plastic pollution) and aimed at creating an art installation that would become the landmark to raise awareness of the fact that plastics last up to 1,000 years in landfills, some of which might never biodegrade. The VATRAA proposal was selected by a grand jury, including architects Kengo Kuma and Carlo Ratti.
VATRAA 事務所在義大利米蘭建造了一座塑膠紀念碑,重新詮釋了紀念碑的意義,透過作品傳達出當今時代的標誌已不再是磚石,取而待之的是塑膠垃圾和寶特瓶。一直以來紀念碑(Monument)被用來紀念偉大的事件、時刻或祖先留下的重要遺產──如金字塔、鬥獸場或巨石陣,而我們在這個時代所留給後代的「永恆」紀念和遺產,就是成堆的塑膠廢棄物。此作品誕生於 2019 年的 YAC 義大利國家地理國際競賽,共有來自 86 個國家/地區的 1,681 項參賽作品。為了提高人們對塑膠汙染的關注,主辦單位將競賽主題定為「Planet or Plastic? ( 星球還是塑膠 )」,主旨在創造一個裝置藝術,來傳達塑膠廢棄物在垃圾掩埋場中長達千年無法被分解的這個事實。 VATRAA 的提案脫穎而出被評審團選中,其中包括建築師 Kengo Kuma 和 Carlo Ratti。


Built out of 16,000 recycled bottles, the monument takes the shape of one of the oldest and most simple forms of structure inherited from our ancestors: a Stonehenge Trilithon. It poses a stark contrast between something we consider highly disposable and the most ancient of structures that has lasted for thousands of years. The installation therefore becomes an ironic vision of the potential ‘monumental’ disaster provoked by the overuse of plastics. It stands to remind us of the consequences of our actions in the long run, of the fact that what we are doing today might stay on Earth forever. Bogdan Rusu, founding partner at VATRAA, said: “We had to go back and ask ourselves what is the purest form of construction that our ancestors left to us. All roads led us to the trilithon – the most basic form of structure, the beginning of any construction as we know it, made of two pillars and a lintel, a form that is so elegantly embodied by Stonehenge. The installation is not designed to be a beautiful, but to makes us think about the consequences of our actions in the long run. We hope that this will inspire people of influence or regular plastic users to consider the bigger impact of the decisions they make today.”
這座紀念碑由 16,000 個回收寶特瓶建造而成,其形狀源自祖先流傳下來,最古老、最簡單的結構形式 ── Trilithon, 巨石陣 ( 由兩塊垂直石頭支撐著第三塊水平放置在頂部的石頭的結構 )。巨石陣流傳數千年的古老,與只能使用一次的拋棄式塑膠瓶之間形成了鮮明對比,作品藉此諷刺當代過度使用塑膠的情形。它提醒我們從長遠來看,我們的行為會產生什麼後果,我們今日所做的事,可能會永遠留在地球上。VATRAA 的合作創辦人 Bogdan Rusu 說:「我們不得不回頭問問自己,我們的祖先留給我們最純粹的建築形式是什麼?一切都指向巨石陣 ( Trilithon ),這是最古老且基本的結構形式,我們所知道的任何建築的開始,都是由兩根柱子和一個門楣所組成,而巨石陣( Trilithon )優雅地體現了這種形式。這個塑膠紀念碑的設計不是為了美觀,而是為了讓人們思考行為的長期後果。我們希望這會激發有影響力的人或經常使用塑膠的大眾,重新思考今天的決定可能帶來的巨大後果。」

The installation, sponsored by Gruppo Unipol, has been installed in Milan and will take up a residency for the next year. It is hoped that it will be reinstalled in other locations so that this powerful message can be communicated elsewhere.
此裝置藝術由 Gruppo Unipol 贊助,現已安裝在米蘭,並將在此地進行駐留一年 ( 2022年11月開始 )。創作者也期許它能在其他位置重新安裝,以在更多地方將這個強大的訊息傳達出去。
Project Name:Plastic Monument
Architects(firm):VATRAA
Principals:VATRAA
Design Team:VATRAA
Character of Space:Installation Art
Location:Milan, Italy
Images:© VATRAA / © Alessandra Terranova
Text:VATRAA
主要建築師:VATRAA事務所
負責單位:VATRAA事務所
空間性質:裝置藝術 ‧ 紀念碑
座落位置:義大利米蘭
影像:VATRAA事務所
文字:VATRAA事務所
整理:陳葳倫