Concerns: Collective project: The Tower of Babel V2.0 - Building Together with Nature
Dear families, parents of the CSI CPs for the year 2024/2025,
After the winter holidays, the children in the four CP classes at the Cité Scolaire Internationale will be creating an unforgettable collective work of art: the Tower of Babel V2.0. For weeks, the children have been bringing in hundreds of empty rolls of toilet paper and Sopalain. They're going to fill them with soil and flower seeds and assemble them into building blocks in class. They will then decorate them with natural paints in the language sections. Around 24 March, these modules will be assembled in the school garden to create a tower much taller than the children, which will then be protected and left to the mercy of the elements. After the first rain, it will disintegrate to make way, after a period of germination, for a new tower, this time plant-based, a habitat for great biodiversity.
A time-lapse video (from March to October) will be produced to immortalize this work. It will be broadcast on YouTube to inspire the world beyond the school, because this project highlights the richness of differences, the importance of respecting nature and the power of the collective.
The project was proposed to the CSI by architecture4future, which is proud to be initiating and supporting this educational and artistic project. We believe that architecture goes beyond the moment of its construction: it shapes stories, conveys values and unites energies. This project with the children is a perfect reflection of these convictions: building together, across generations, valuing diversity and working with nature for a desirable future. Thank you for supporting and passing on this hopeful initiative, which will leave a lasting impression on our children!
Sincerely
Patrick Stefan Rheinert
Dipl. Ing. Architect Father from Carl CP2
study model made with 45 tubes: height 90 cm
Educational project: The Tower of Babel V2.0 - Building together with Nature
Project summary:
Inspired by the myth of the Tower of Babel, this secular group project brings together pupils from the four first-year classes, from different backgrounds, languages and cultures, to build a common work symbolizing unity in diversity. But here, the tower is more than just a symbol: it embodies the collaboration between humans and nature, highlighting the values of ecology, respect and resilience in the face of time and the natural elements.
Objectifs:
1. Highlighting differences :
Show that our cultural and linguistic diversities are not obstacles, but ‘superpowers’ that enrich our world and make it possible to build ambitious projects.
2. Changing our vision of complexity:
Teaching that even in the complexity of things, there is no fatality. With creativity and cooperation, every challenge can become an opportunity for learning and growth.
3. Show the power of nature and time :
Teach that man, despite his ingenuity, must respect the power of nature and time. These two forces are not limits, but allies in doing better and going further.
4. Raising ecological awareness :
To teach the children to understand, respect and work with nature, using natural and biodegradable materials, so that this collective work becomes after decompotion a living space for biodiversity.
Project description:
Each class will build modules for a collective tower using empty toilet paper and kitchen paper rolls. These rolls will first be colored with natural paints representing flags, wishes or motifs inspired by nature in the different classes of the language sections. Then they will be filled with dried topsoil mixed with sunflower seeds and other flowers. The bases and canopies of these modules will be made of cardboard, which is particularly easy to compost.
On a dedicated afternoon around 24 March, all the modules will be assembled in an 8 m2 section of the school garden to form a collective ‘Tower of Babel’, over 2 meters high. The base of this tower will then be protected by screens and left to the mercy of the natural elements. With the rain, the tower will gradually disintegrate, releasing the soil and the seeds. Little by little, sunflowers and other flowers will replace the tower, creating a new habitat for insects and small animals, hopefully higher than the original tower.
The evolution of this work - its construction, decomposition and the rebirth of the plants - will be captured in a time-lapse could be produced by the CSI high school video workshop, then shared on YouTube to inspire a wide audience.
Example of a time-Lapse https://www.luma.org/fr/live/watch/Timelapse-construction-la-tour-2021-9cb63ce3-9073-413e-8364-cc85d8c003d4.html
2mx4m construction zone between courtyard and CP football pitch (at the back, type of fence planned)
Forces of this project :
1. Diversity as wealth:Each module represents a culture, language or identity, showing that diversity is a creative force and can be understood by children as a ‘superpower’.
2. Union in face of complexity:This project proves that even complex challenges can be met by working together, accepting differences and learning from each other.
3. Nature as a ‘partner’: By developing biodegradable materials and using natural forces (water, earth, vegetation), the project teaches the importance of working with nature rather than against it and integrating the dimension of time.
4. Practical and poetic ecology:The tower's cycle of decay and rebirth shows that everything, even that which seems ephemeral, can be transformed into something new and alive.
5. Transmission and partage:This experience will leave a lasting impression on our children, giving them strength through their ability to act in an uncertain world, thanks to the support of their teachers.
By documenting and sharing the experience on YouTube, the project will be able to showcase the values of the Lyon CSI and inspire similar initiatives elsewhere in France and internationally.
Conclusion:
The Tower of Babel V2.0 built by our children will not simply be an object: it will be a living history. A story of unity in diversity, humility in the face of nature, and hope in what the future can offer when we work together.
