A Shelter Resembling Sicilian Volcano
Stories are told of the people who once lived along the Anapo River in eastern Sicily. Above the Pantalica valley carved by the river remain the tombs of those who lived and died there. The more than 4,000 tombs created between the 13th and 7th centuries BCE reveal only how the dead were buried, offering little insight into how they built and inhabited their homes in life. With almost no architectural traces discovered, research on this prehistoric site can only speculate that the valley’s inhabitants constructed their dwellings using lightweight structural techniques and locally available organic materials. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
Asympta, presented by architect Leopold Banchini at the first COSMO Festival, is a speculative micro-architecture imagining an undocumented prehistoric architectural landscape. It explores how architecture and worldview might have emerged within a terrain shaped by specific geography and resources. Reflecting the provisional qualities of early domestic construction, the temporary installation combines vernacular building methods with contemporary techniques to generate fictional narratives, deliberately excluding archaeological perspectives, scientific research, and strict chronological interpretation.
The structure of Asympta draws from the conical form of Mount Etna, a symbol of eastern Sicily. In contrast to the concept of the Primitive Hut proposed by French Enlightenment thinker Marc-Antoine Laugier as the origin of architecture, Banchini suggests that architecture arises from specific place-based conditions. Rather than assuming a single universal origin, architecture reflects the terrain and landscape of its site. Its open structure evokes the transience that early domestic architecture may have possessed. Its lightness stands in contrast to the enduring stone tombs scattered across the valley, underscoring how the architecture of the living often leaves fewer traces than that of the dead.
The structure was assembled from materials sourced in Sicily, including lava stone from Mount Etna, fire-charred wood, dark limestone known as Pietra Pece, bronze, and sheep wool felt. These materials were employed as elements of traditional construction rooted in the geological context of eastern Sicily. The charred timber and volcanic stone engage in dialogue with the elemental forces that have shaped the land and its culture.
Asympta was unveiled at the COSMO Festival in Syracuse, held from October 27 to November 9, 2025. Syracuse, a historic city inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with Pantalica, hosted the festival in celebration of the 20th anniversary of its inscription. During the event, Asympta functioned as a temporary shelter for visitors. It is scheduled to be relocated to Pantalica in 2026.
Project: Asympta / Location: COSMO festival 2025, Ortigia, Siracusa SR, Italy / Architect: Leopold Banchini Architects / Contractor: DiSe / Use: pavilion / Completion: 2025 / Photograph: ©Simone Bossi (courtesy of the architect)
