Feed the Kiln — Unearthed Practice

SHOW: All DWELLING GATHERING INSTALLATION OBJECTS

Feed the Kiln2026|Ragusa,Sicily,Italy

Type: Civic/Cultural/Agricultural

Credits:
Competition Organizer: Reuse Italy
Design: Unearthed Practice
Christopher Loofs, Jordan Loofs, Kaci Marshall

Feed the Kiln unites the embedded formal-industrial logics of the Fornace Penna with the informal uses of its ruined condition and lands. As recently as 2009, the grounds of the Kiln were being used for the small scale agricultural production of Nero d’Avola, a significant variety of red wine grape indigenous to Sicily. In the Kiln’s current state, the remnants of these vine rows persist, overgrown and unkempt to the north, extending the linear logic as a gesture toward the surrounding community. This proposal formalizes this gesture in order to create a space that serves both the immediate populace and temporary visitors through the common bonds of land, sea, food, culture, and community.

The lands surrounding the Kiln are reimagined as a productive commons; combining agricultural fields of orchards and vineyards with walking paths into a freely accessible public space. The rejuvenated landscape supports an ecosystem of crops with cultural and economic significance to Sicily whose harvests become the raw materials for a network of small-scale production: Nero d’Avola grapes are fermented into rich red wines; Limone di Siracusa and Femminello lemons create limoncello, perfume, and a variety of culinary ingredients; and Nocellara del Belice produce castelvetrano olives ready to be pressed into extra virgin olive oil or served at café tables. Processing equipment on the upper level of the Kiln bridges cultivation and consumption, turning these local labors into part of the visitor experience. The resulting products return to the ground floor where they are served in the café-bistro and bar, or offered for purchase in the marketplace. At the Kiln, architecture and landscape work in tandem to cultivate a place of production, exchange, and gathering; supporting everyday and extraordinary uses while connecting the network of public life from the land to the seafront.

Feed the Kiln was designed as a submission for the 2026 Reuse the Kiln competition organized by Reuse Italy.