Martamarcà. Il baratto nel quartiere.
Basic information
Project Title
Martamarcà. Il baratto nel quartiere.
Full project title
Martamarcà. Barter in the neighborhood
Category
Regaining a sense of belonging
Project Description
Martamarcà is a project for the Santa Marta neighborhood in Venice, designed to spread the idea of the market as a public place where the meeting between citizens leads to greater conviviality and incen-tivizes a circular economy model, bringing objects back to life through bartering. This sense of partic-ipation is amplified during the set-up workshop, in which the structures of the event will be construct-ed, encouraging the relationship between the people involved.
Geographical Scope
Local
Project Region
Italy
Urban or rural issues
Mainly urban
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
EU Programme or fund
No
Description of the project
Summary
Santa Marta, a neighborhood located at the northwestern end of Venice, is home to a very diverse population, made up of residents but also a percentage of students who daily animate the structures of the former “Cotonificio” (Cotton Mill), inhabit the houses in the neighborhood and the university res-idence; this makes Santa Marta a lively place, rich in history and traditions, with a strong sense of community, a community that needs places to meet and exchange. Starting from the reflection on pub-lic spaces and their importance for the community, the project aims to respond to the desire to re-inhabit these places through the practice of "making community through exchange." Through a partic-ipatory project, Martamarcà aims to promote phenomena of human and social development, spreading the idea of the market as a public place where to encourage a new circular economic model in which the meeting and sharing of citizens lead to greater conviviality.
Key objectives for sustainability
By activating a network of exchange of goods, objects and tools, through a community perspective of social interaction, objects often characterized by transitory use can be given new life. The transitory use of objects mainly concerns university students, whose stay in a house usually for a limited amount of time. In fact, once they have completed their studies, they have to find a place for all the posses-sions that have accompanied them on their domestic adventure. Thanks to the barter market event, these goods do not risk becoming waste but, on the contrary, acquire value and utility for someone else. This model of exchange thus moves away from the linear view of the economy ("extract, produce, use and throw away") to favor a circular system based on the concepts of reuse, repair and recycling. The project, therefore, aims to bring to the neighborhood and its citizens the theme of reusing the objects that overflow the spaces we live in on a daily basis and which, if not treated properly, would inexorably end up in landfills. Giving objects a new life through bartering, in this sense, becomes a way to trigger practices and processes of change within the context of the neighborhood, where the citizen is not just a "customer" or a "seller", but actively participates in all phases of the event.
This is not a passive exchange but rather a practice that requires strong social interaction among the participants.
This is not a passive exchange but rather a practice that requires strong social interaction among the participants.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
During the Martamarcà event, participants will be greeted by an entrance portal, a structure that metaphorically nullifies the boundary between inside and outside, where they will receive kits for setting up the structures. The concept of sharing persists throughout the event through the staging workshop, conceived as a participatory action through which to build the structures where exchange and relationships among participants will take place. By analyzing the space around them, the citizen will be led to rediscover and enhance the urban voids of the neighborhood through the construction of the structures that will bring the market to life. The workshop will connect participants in the event, who will become "housemates" of the same set-up, creating and furnishing the structures with the objects to be exchanged. They will be configured as "houses of objects" to be bartered, becoming the center of the act of exchange. The market becomes a family environment that is spontaneously created and developed based on the needs of the participants. The boundary between event and neighborhood will thus be erased. The outdoor space will be linked to the indoor space through a thread that connects the structures to the walls of the buildings, intertwining with the objects to be exchanged and passing from one house to another. A long thread connecting people, objects and the neighborhood.
Key objectives for inclusion
Santa Marta, a neighborhood located at the northwestern end of the island of Venice, is home to a very diversified population, made up of residents but also a percentage of students who daily animate the structures of the former Cotton Mill, inhabit the houses in the neighborhood and the university residence; this makes Santa Marta a lively place, rich in history and traditions, with a strong sense of community, a community that needs places to meet and exchange.
This reality requires designers to be able to offer an alternative to commercial design, able to conceive new types of production and propose new lifestyles. Starting from small realities, capable of creating conditions that make new social models possible, a collective reflection is implemented on modern society, which is characterized by the overproduction of material goods and accustomed to observing the visible sign of the economic-social condition they represent and not the real need it has for an object.
This reality requires designers to be able to offer an alternative to commercial design, able to conceive new types of production and propose new lifestyles. Starting from small realities, capable of creating conditions that make new social models possible, a collective reflection is implemented on modern society, which is characterized by the overproduction of material goods and accustomed to observing the visible sign of the economic-social condition they represent and not the real need it has for an object.
How Citizens benefit
Martamarcà is a tailor-made event to the Santa Marta neighborhood, a lively environment reflecting the animated and convivial spirit of the market.
The event will result in a network of object sharing among citizens, supporting a circular economic model through bartering.
The event will result in a network of object sharing among citizens, supporting a circular economic model through bartering.
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Innovative character
This model of exchange moves away from the linear view of the economy ("extract, produce, use and throw away") to favor a circular system based on the concepts of reuse, repair and recycling. The project, therefore, aims to bring to the neighborhood and its citizens the theme of reusing the objects that overflow the spaces we live in on a daily basis and which , if not treated properly, would inexorably end up in landfills. Giving objects a new life through bartering, in this sense, becomes a way to trigger practices and processes of change within the context of the neighborhood, where the citizen is not just a "customer" or a "seller," but actively participates in all phases of the event.
Disciplines/knowledge reflected
These type of realities requires designers to be able to offer an alternative to commercial design, able to conceive new types of production and propose new lifestyles. Starting from small realities, capable of creating conditions that make new social models possible, a collective reflection is implemented on modern so-ciety, which is characterized by the overproduction of material goods and accustomed to observing the visible sign of the economic-social condition they represent and not the real need they have for an ob-ject. The priority for the designer must be, therefore, to be concerned, before the product or the pro-cess, with the impact it has on the people to whom it is addressed; through design one intervenes in society and the relationships between the people who are part of it.
How stakeholders are engaged
The municipality of Venice, the local cultural club "La Gondola" and IUAV University of Venice was involved in the project.
In particular, the neighborhood club "La Gondola" will ensure the involvement of citizens and students, promoting the success of the event and its longevity.
They will provide the necessary staff for the organization, which can take charge of the next editions of the event.
In particular, the neighborhood club "La Gondola" will ensure the involvement of citizens and students, promoting the success of the event and its longevity.
They will provide the necessary staff for the organization, which can take charge of the next editions of the event.
Global challenges
In the historical era in which we live, it is important to rebuild and reconnect relationships between people, to build community through participatory actions that make citizens an integral part of the neighbourhood in which they live. Only in this way can we achieve sustainability - with the declinations it entails in the cultural, environmental, economic and social spheres, in light of the 17 SDGs for sustainable development of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda (Agenda 2030, 2021) - which is an open challenge.
Learning transferred to other parties
The event-market format is designed to be repeated many times a year, in connection with certain strategic periods. Martamarcà proposes a model that is replicable and scalable to different realities that, like our scenario, need services and places for social agregation. Starting from small realities, capable of creating conditions that make new social models possible, a collective reflection is implemented on modern society, which is characterized by the overproduction of material goods and accustomed to observing the visible sign of the economic-social condition they represent and not the real need it has for an object.
Keywords
Circular-economy
Barter
Bottom-up
Local
Knowledge-exchange
