CanyaVivaItalia was founded in 2016 as the Italian nucleus of the CanyaViva network, which since 2005 has been proposing bioconstruction experiences based on the sustainable use of Mediterranean reed (Arundo donax L.) and bamboo (Bambusoideae). Generally considered invasive because of their very high reproductive capacity and adaptability, these plants have great structural and artistic potential. Their abundance and renewability and their mechanical properties offer the possibility to use them as construction material, with an expressive freedom that allows to give life to organic and innovative forms. Through self-construction workshops, CanyaVivaItalia promotes the diffusion of technical skills and specific competences, encouraging the valorization of local natural resources, the re-appropriation of creative means and a collaborative and community working method. For more than 15 years the CanyaViva collective has been proposing a codified construction method, in which the properties of Arundo donax and bamboo, such as flexibility and resistance, are optimized in the construction of structural arches that can be combined in multiple compositional possibilities.
The CanyaViva method allows for the creation of lively, innovative and personalized spaces, enabling the integral use of the material in the name of complete sustainability. The proposed construction model creatively enhances the natural resources, which evolve and are transformed through participatory human action.
The result is a work that reflects the relationship between the creative power of nature and that of man, the starting point for a living and multidisciplinary ecological consciousness.
