The Woods

The spontaneous and natural tangle of forest formations is the exact opposite of the organized reality of built and urbanized spaces, dictated by reason and therefore perfectly decodable by it. NATURE AND META-NATURE

In its double symbolism, the nocturnal one of impenetrable, disturbing, hostile and dangerous and diurnal, luxuriant teeming with life and uncontaminated, pleasant and restful, the woods are both: the place of nothing, the labyrinth or the labyrinthine inner loss and the place of transitions. The place of life and that of death.

It has its own grammar and is one of the great metaphors of fantastic and fairytale reading.

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Img 2: Artwork by

Forest tales

Between physical forest and the inner forest is the woods in the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood even if according to the original fairy tale, the forest is necessarily a transition point to get, avoiding the dangers, to the grandmother's house. If the wood is to be understood as a smaller and perhaps more “domestic” physical place than that of the forest, the inner woods can be cataloged in some places such as that of contemplation and quiescence of loss, an imaginative place (due to intermittent darkness) without rules and place of maturation and knowledge.

Between reality and imagination the theme of the forest as a landscape element played an important role in modern art with the so-called landscapes of Fabulation between the late 1500s and early 1600s in Rome and Naples where natural elements of a realistic nature were mixed with others, totally invented for highlighting both decorative and, more importantly, inviting the viewer to a more imaginative reading of the landscape.

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Img 3: Artwork by EwaGeruze

Fable of the Red Hood

The tale of Little Red Riding Hood, following the mother's instructions, invites us to experience the woods as something to run away from, a place where you don't have to entertain yourself in order to arrive, without detours and dangers, directly to the grandmother's house which is "apparently" their goal of the story.

But the forest is then necessary, the inner journey is therefore also, symbolized by the forest, necessary. The objective, the aim cannot be separated from the path that anticipates it and together they constitute a single body, the body of human beings and that of nature which cannot be separated.

The path therefore in its various imaginary sequences (being a fairy tale) can become the element on which to focus the maximum attention, overturning the very meaning of the story, that is to say, concentrating on the idea of the path as a short text " Der Feldberg” by Martin Heidegger suggests ".

red riding hood

Img 4: Artwork by Unknown

Brief of the competition

Design Brief - The competition is about re-imaging a novel: a new wood and wooden house for little red riding hood.

The aim of this competition is to push forward the imagination about a very classic novel questioning if the path is important or just the final destination the only purpose to be pursued. The same difference exists between a tourist and a traveler. Should be our little girl enjoy the path (including any possible danger) before to get to her grandma's house or to get there directly, following her mother's instructions? How would you describe the path in the wood in a term of a visionary map including the grandma house project? Which place is Home?

To Design

red riding hood

The following objectives can be a point of beginning to conceive this design. Participants can assume their own contexts and users before initiating their design process.

red riding hood

Img 5: Woods imagery for inspiration

Inspiration - Schwalmstadt, Germany

The forest that inspired the Grimm brothers is the one near Schwalmstadt in Germany.

Schwalmstadt is the largest town in the Schwalm-Eder district, in northern Hesse, Germany. It was established only in 1970 with the amalgamation of the towns of Treysa and Ziegenhain together with some outlying villages to form the town of Schwalmstadt.

Site Coordinates: 50° 56′ N, 9° 13′ E

Program Guidelines

The forest, near to Schwalmstadt in the north of Germany, that inspired the Grimm brothers can be enlarged and undergo the variations that each participant will consider appropriate.

It can be treated like a labyrinthine forest, a forest or a woods.

What is important is the inner journey in relation to the imagined forest.

Given the vast size of the wooded area that is proposed as the basis of the project (approx. 15 km), it is sufficient to take one of the portions; this point will be left to the decision of the participants.

Both, the Map of the Woods and the Wooden House can be integrated.

Judging Criteria

The entries will be judged by an international jury of the competition on the following criterions:

About unfuse

Unfuse serves as a unit block for Uni in the field of Architecture. It intends to break the fusion of traditional design barriers and methodologies by making it a platform for experimentation and conceptual exchange of ideas in architecture, urbanism, society, culture and ecology. It is a research initiative dedicated to providing opportunities for designers from all domains to explore ideas that go beyond the boundaries of architectural discipline and enrich our built environment; thereby opening up possibilities for promotion of architectural thought at a global level.

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A New Wood

OVERVIEW