VESPER 10. PROGETTO EDEN

Eden Project aims to give space and visual representation to goals. It seeks to explore the 'essence' of pursued destinies, the tangible 'collapse' of imagined goals, and the tools employed in the realms of work, life, and thought to achieve them. Karl Kraus once argued: 'Origin is the goal'. Eden represents the origin, eternally lost and only attainable as a goal. In his theses On the Concept of History, Walter Benjamin referred to 'progress' as the project of modernity that compels us to establish Eden as a goal, yet it is our fixation on this goal that perpetually distances us from the origin, leaving us trapped in the melancholic state of lost paradise. In Civita, Giorgio Agamben urges us to contemplate the essence of existence: the possible responses intertwine elusive ideals, entrenched opportunism, fortuitous circumstances, and preconceived notions, all serving as the backdrop for establishing desires and ideals. The goal is an elusive image, encompassing either the primitive and untainted way of life or the perfect city, influenced by the interplay between culture and nature. It can be internalized through the dominance of abstractions or remain unattainable in the face of neo-realisms. The desired destination clarifies the purpose of the journey, sometimes rendering the journey itself as the sole means of bringing it into focus. Eden, the garden of delights, in its innumerable interpretations and representations, is an enclosed place (indeed the original meaning of 'paradise' is 'enclosed space'). It exists separately from the prevailing logic of the surrounding territory, exclusive in nature, safeguarding its unique contents: a realm brimming with water and diverse forms of life. For Joseph Rykwert, Eden is both a memory and a promise, tangibly evoked by wresting land from urban development, imposing exceptions to the rule - like Central Park in Manhattan; it is often a presence to be rediscovered. Cultural and urban ideals have allowed intellectual, artistic, and architectural endeavours to challenge that promise, giving substance to the extraordinary while averting the perils that accompany it.