The release of the second issue of Soul Design took place in conjunction with one of the most prestigious events of the year: the XVII Venice Biennale of Architecture. On this occasion, we interviewed Alessandro Melis, curator of the Italian Pavilion of this edition. During the interview, we talked about “Resilient Communities”, the title of the Italian Pavilion, to better understand the space between evolution, diversity and climate change. The Pavilion created for the XVII Venice Biennale spoke of the link between man and nature, exploring the evolution of the species between the 1960s and 2000s, and the importance of diversity as a key element to be able to adapt and survive in contexts that continue to change. It sends a strong message that is not only valid in biology, but also in society. “The message that we want to convey is that the only way forward is to accept as much diversity as possible, both in society and creative constructions that this society offers. Diversity, and therefore greater disorder, offers us greater margins for survival.” With the architect, we also explored the meaning of material as a connection point between two worlds. “Material is the tool that allows mediation between man and nature, it is what allows human settlement on this planet. And that’s where problems arise. Material can be interpreted in two different ways. Until today, it has been interpreted – especially for construction in architecture as an artifice – as something that was born externally to nature, and which today, due to the environmental crisis, must be mitigated, such as by associating ourselves with nature, by injecting nature. The second, which derives from evolutionary biology, is that in reality artifice does not exist. So the material must be something intrinsically ecological in order for mediation to take place.” Read the complete interview by downloading Soul Design N°2 magazine in our Downloads Area.