Projects

The Circolo Risorgimento in via Poggio, the historic ANPI bowling centre in Barriera di Milano, is facing a profound change and needs to open up to the district. The candidate proposal for Bottom Up! includes the redesign of the outdoor spaces of the Club (pergola and bowling green) with small structures and furnishings and a reopening of the previously abandoned large unfinished canopy (bowling green) adjacent to the Club, which will be returned to the neighborhood to host shows, gardens and to play football.

A project for the redevelopment from the bottom up of the largest area of the city affected by illegal use: the illegal vegetable gardens in Mirafiori Sud. The goal is to return 6 hectares of public greenery to the neighborhood while maintaining its agricultural use. The participatory redevelopment project will involve both the illegal vegetable gardeners and volunteers in the creation of a large park of urban gardens to experiment with new forms of urban agriculture and social inclusion. The project also includes soil analysis to solve any pollution problems as well as various management models (association, social enterprise, etc.).

The Chagall school, with 90% of pupils coming from different parts of the world, plays an active role in combating school segregation. The school community wishes to expand innovative teaching practices in the garden outside the school building, making the green area a place of integration and exchange of experiences. The project includes an intervention on green areas and community creation actions through workshops on three themes: home, water and forest, and animation activities (cinema, music, parties).

The proposal aims to reduce food waste through the creation of a mobile kitchen to recover, transform and distribute the unused surpluses of the food chain in Turin. The plan is to increase the current distribution network and boost urban transformation through the reuse of the several open market areas of the city that are no longer utilized when sales activities are over.

The project foresees the construction of a new public space: a theatre inside the juvenile prison “Ferrante Aporti” in the Lingotto district, Turin, managed by the resident youth. It will be dedicated to internal gathering activities as well as cultural exhibitions open to the city. It is a multifunctional space, which also includes a pizzeria. The young people in the facility will be involved all through the project stages, design, implementation, use and management.

The Villaretto district lacks services, connections and designed public spaces. The proposal aims to create a “Neighborhood House”, built inside a container in the access square of the neighborhood. ConVi will be the venue for spontaneous and organized meetings, cultural, artistic and associative activities such as workshops, recreational projects, readings and book exchanges, managed by local actors from the districts of Villaretto and Falchera, with the special contribution of the Civic Libraries. The project also includes a collective design workshop to guide the community in the design of a self-constructed ‘seating area’.

Despite the substantial Chinese presence in Turin (8000, of which 2300 university students), there is no dedicated are for intercultural dialogue. The project provides for the reopening of an underused empty space in via Medici 28 to fill this gap, creating a new place for Sino-Italian cultural exchanges. The premises made available by Circoscrizione 4 will host daily study and work activities as well as cultural events. A preliminary workshop will focus on the required design and construction works.

The proposal provides for the renovation of the building in Via Cavagnolo 9 and its unification with the centre of Via Cavagnolo 7 (home of the Piccolo Cinema), by means of 10 container modules measuring 244 cm x 610 cm and the enhancement and fitting out of the outdoor spaces around the two buildings. The aim is to improve the connection of the Piccolo Cinema with the neighborhood through the co-design of new activitie to support the inhabitants with various services such as a neighborhood concierge, library/video library, playroom, kitchen and refreshment area, vegetable garden and “neighborhood planter”.

The aim of the project is to create a community bakery in Barriera di Milano. The gardeners of the neighborhood will thus experience baking as an act of integration and sharing of physical, cultural, social, environmental resources, according to the principles of the circular economy. The project aims to stimulate curiosity about cereals through theoretical-practical workshops, increase awareness on the biodiversity of cereals through the design of a grain library, spread the culture of bread with collective baking workshops and create a bread garden community.

The courtyard of the Casa del Quartiere di San Salvario is a space of 600 square meters that serves as a gathering place for inhabitants of all ages. However, it is an expanse of concrete, with no large shading elements (only 3 umbrellas) and where the green is relegated to small marginal spaces, with limited use in summer. The project intends to to expand the shaded outdoor space through a system of green pergolas around the perimeter seats.

The purpose is to promote the social inclusion of psychiatric users living in the residential facilities overlooking the F. Piredda garden, where sound diffusion systems and loudspeakers will be installed through participatory design and self-construction initiatives. The latter will broadcast a soundtrack created by the patients of the facilities, health professionals and citizens recording the sounds of the neighborhood. The aim is to promote practices of social inclusion and stigma eradication, to activate a process of urban regeneration of the area and test the potential of combining creative disciplines with psychiatric rehabilitation.

The tree-lined and communicating courtyards between Via delle Rosine and Via Giolitti in the centre of Turin host activities attended every year by 3600 families, 600 students and 9000 adult users, from morning (educational services) to night (entertainment and culture). The project aims to transform the courtyards into a place where the people who live there can connect, creating a hub with a strong community value with the people playing a proactive role. The festival will be an opportunity for the participatory engagement of citizens through a creative playful installation.

Today, Piazza Imperatore Tito in Milan is largely used as an unauthorized parking lot; for this reason residents, tradesmen and associations of the neighborhood have developed a shared proposal to take full advantage of its potential: transforming the 550 square meters into a garden, greenhouse, study room, gym, cinema, theater, kitchen, living room, laboratory and much more. A key design element of the proposal is the installation of a pergola and 23 modular wooden benches. Thus creating new spaces for socialization, sport, greenery and inclusive participation.

Via Pacini is a strategic axis for the city of Milan. It’s characterized by a large central tree-lined parterre, which unfortunately is used almost only as an unregulated parking lot. Hence the proposal to redesign the area by enhancing its pedestrian vocation and making it more pleasant and safe for all its users. The project includes the insertion of an artistic flooring, an iconic seat, a renewed urban furniture and plants. The users of the spaces will be involved in every phase of the project, with the aim of creating a common space that meets the needs of the community.