An Alphabet of Milan Region

An Alphabet of Milan Region

Contemporary City 1 | Projects and Descriptions Prof. Laurent Devisme with Prof. Daniele Villa Ph.D Alice Buoli, Ph.D. Matteo Del Fabbro, Ph.D Mario Paris a.y. 2018-2019

Credits MA Course in Urban Planning and Policy Design AUIC School | Politecnico di Milano | a.y. 2018-2018 Contemporary City 1 | Projects and Descriptions Prof. Laurent Devisme with Prof. Daniele Villa Ph.D Alice Buoli, Ph.D. Matteo Del Fabbro, Ph.D Mario Paris

G01

G02

G03

G04

G05

G06

G07

G08

G09

G10

Chuquin Alarcon Paloma Lee Elwaleed Abdelaziz Ali Sara Papachristou Sotirios Tenorio De Araujo Isadora Manimekalai Sowrirajan Thein Merlini Ayano Perdomo Guzmán Jose Gabriel Yao Jiaqi Bokshi Erëza Lasagni Ludovica Nalepa Marcin Jan Tuna Jakob Cristofori Alberto Muhammad Sonia Olivia Sharma Ishita Zambrano Avila Andrea Viviana Farnaz Frozesh Seyedeh Elham Ashrafi Claudia Pibiri Afriz Liaquatali Shabnam Fathimaa Frenzen Verena Isabella Golmakani Yalda Ludovici Lucia Pardi Alessia Bensmaine-Wagner Lilas Manui Meto Camille Marie Pierrette Qian Tianjian Teixeira Taveira Sofia Felici Fioravanti Geronimo Machaidze Elene Shaishmelashvili Mariami Tarwani Ahsaas Abdalla Youmna Ahmed Hassan Fouly Elahwal Nada Ibrahim Omar Abdelhamid Kapsiz Aysel Rubino Giorgio Arkak Mahdi Mahdavi Ayda Scalcinati Simone Wall Henrietta Maria

G11

G12

G13

G14

G15

G16

G17

G18

G19

Arriaga Ayala Claudia Maria Cavalli Letizia De Andrade Sharon Malta Hala Abuelgasim Mohamed Hamedalla Cardona Lopez Andres Felipe Jreij Abdallah Venturi Margherita Zendeli Doruntina Azunre Gideon Abagna Guo Haixu Salehi Atefeh Vischi Chiara Pappas Théodora Nadia Mathilde Quiros Van Outrive Ana Sofia Valles Laraine Anne Hautberg Juliette Goudarzi Farnoosh Obregon Vazquez Luis Arturo Rier Philipp Yao Xi Guo Lei Jahangirova Ismat Ragazzoni Mara Tancredi Silvia Feng Ning Fernández Sánchez Paula Fischi Matteo Farnaz Omouri Casagrande Gabriele Gorsi Jawad Hussain Hayat Panchagnula Krishna Dutt Zarei Elham Golestani Golnaz Li Shanglong Qin Danning D’auria Ivan Filippo Perego

Course and activities developed as part of the “Didattica Innovativa” programme at Politecnico di Milano

Contents

Introduction The Alphabet and the City

p. 05

The Alphabet

p.11

a aperitivo b ballatoio boschi verticali c centrale cittĂ studi e corso como f expo fondazione festivalization g galleria graffito grattacielo

p. 12 p. 14 p. 16 p. 18

i ingresso

p. 20 p. 22 p. 24 p. 26 p. 28 p. 30 p. 32 p. 34 p. 36

l linate m macao p porta paolo sarpi q questione urbana s san siro scali ferroviari sempione park t tram w week

p. 38 p. 40 p. 42 p. 44 p. 48 p. 50 p. 52 p. 54 p. 56 p. 58

Annexes I p. 59 Backstage Materials

005

Introduction The Alphabet and the City

The “Contemporary City. Descriptions and Projects” Course (a.y..

2018/2019) directed by prof. Laurent Devisme have offered students in the first year of the MSc in Urban Planning and Policy Design an innovative teaching program articulated in a sequence of reading activities, critical interpretation and collective discussion, starting from the contemporary debates of urban studies and from the international urban literature, and in parallel by the observation and representation of the Milan metropolitan area.

The course combined, in an integrated and complementary way, a typical approach of the critical / theoretical teaching with elements of “practicebased” and laboratory teaching.

The class - organized in 19 groups of 4/5 students - has been engaged in four different mini-studios activities during the entire semester.

1. Spatial controversies: documentation, mapping and “staging” of a spatial conflict at the urban or national level. Each group carried out a thorough research on a relevant controversial condition, through the available literature (academic and “gray”), but also on the basis of field explorations and short interviews. The final objective is the production of a series of research dossiers and the “staging” of disputes through the representation of the different points of view of the actors involved.

2. An Alphabet of the Milan region: collective construction of an alphabet of significant and representative words of the Milanese region. Each item of the alphabet consists of a technical-descriptive text and a “postcard” / visual representation (photographic, collage, freehand drawing) produced during explorations. Starting from the observation of a series of open topics (spatial practices, urban material capital, ongoing transformations, mobility) the work methodology is managed independently by the groups on the basis of tutorials, references and tools offered by the teacher. The alphabet is discussed jointly by all 19 groups and is be collected in a digital format (a blog) and this paper publication.

006

3. Descriptions and narratives: production of site-specific narratives around some places in the city of Milan. Students, applying an observation methodology based on an ethnographic approach, are involved in the production of descriptive texts, conceived as “scripts” for recording short audio podcasts. The format combines elements of subjective / objective narration of a place, also through the reconstruction of its soundscape.

4. Commented City Walks: production of “collective” narratives of / along urban sequences. The mini-workshop, taking inspiration from the methodology proposed by prof. Jean-Paul Thibaud, proposes the reading of a piece of the city through the experience and the narration of different city-users and passers-by. Starting from the definition of some places and urban routes of interest and a series of research questions, the methodology involves the accompaniment, listening and recording of different “walks” commented by the identified subjects. The return of the experience takes place through different media, through which the paths are reconstructed and mapped and give rise to a critical reworking of the narratives of the different subjects.

Early research operations and first methodological guidelines The work on the Alphabet started with a general review of the main perspectives / images that each student proposed on the city of Milan, during the first week of the course: the exercise “Milan in three sentences”.

What emerged was a first overview of recurrent words, images and imaginaries of the city that were later clustered into four main fields: 1. “Productive” imaginaries 2. Spatial / Visual Qualities 3. City Rhythms 4. Way(s) of Life Inside the first category we grouped a series of expressions and descriptions about Milan that stress its international image as the fashion / design capital of Italy and its attractiveness on a global scale, for instance: An international / European / global city (Metropolis) Interconnected / Accessible “Glocal” Glamorous (the fashion / design / financial capital of Italy) Creative Progressive (a city of opportunities) Innovative (a living laboratory)

007

Commercial / City of consumption (Post-) Industrial In the second category we clustered expressions and adjectives related to the physical / material dimensions of the city, such as: Dense Dirty / Smoky / Grey Treeless The city of “Bosco Verticale” “Parking is horrible” Monotone / “no urban/architectural intrigue” Historical / Artistic Modern / Contemporary (In-between Old and New) In the third one, adjectives and expressions related to the city dynamics and times: Dynamic / Changing / In transformation Resilient / Able to regenerate itself Chaotic / Busy Slow “Dead after 7.30 pm” “Never sleep city” And finally a fourth category collected impressions and descriptors related to the social landscape of Milan, in particular about it diversity and or (non)liveability and accessibility: Multi-cultural / Diverse / Generous (A city for migrants) Inclusive / Cohesive Expensive / Competitive Liveable (High quality of life) Vibrant / Known for night life and aperitivo Conservative Young Religious Unsafe Unliveable / Too expensive “Not an Italian city” Interestingly quite opposite visions and ideas about the city emerged according to the various visions and experiences addressed.

008

A second exercise / operation that has been proposed to students was to reconsider these first ideas in light of an exploration of the city, with new eyes for those who know it already Milan and with renovated curiosity for those who are new to the city. In particular we suggested a series of focus of interest and related questions: Diversity of populations and spatial practices How the city is lived and produced by its diverse inhabitants?

Creative neighbourhoods and multiculturalism in the city How does the presence of tourism and international city-users in the urban landscape affect different neighbourhoods?

Mobility and accessibility How do people move in the city?

How different areas of Milano are accessed by different users?

Urban rhythms and times How does the city is lived in different moments of the day / days of the week / times of the year?

A city in transformation How the city is changing?

What are main areas / places in transition?

In addition, the first tutorial also included a series of visual references and examples to be taken into consideration and explored for the development of the Alphabet postcards, for instance: ~~ The photographic project by Giovanni Hänninen “cittainattesa” ~~ The data visualization project “Dear Data” by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec ~~ The photographic project “Photo Notes” by Hans Eijkelboom ~~ The | N | e | u | b | a | u Studio collection of Berlin trees ~~ The research project “On Brodway” by Daniel Goddemeyer, Moritz Stefaner, Dominikus Baur and Lev Manovich On this basis students were advice and guided through the first weeks (out of 3/2 overall duration of the exercise) with a series of methodological suggestions and tools, such as: In situ writing as a test A non-familiar city exploration Capacities of the random walk The entanglement of percepts and affects Floating attention and samples Anthology of photographs followed by thematic problematisation

009

A collection of visual narratives The visual materials and texts collected in this booklet and in the course blog (www.contemporarycity2019.tumblr.com) give evidence to the variety of approaches and perspectives that each group have freely designed according to the interests, fascinations and discussions during the Alphabet mini-studio, but also in relation to the other intensive workshops. Indeed, while the first “round” has been more influenced by the first impressions and “Milano in three words” exercises, round 2 to 4 have been enriched by the explorations and methodological approaches experiences in the “Commented City Walk”, “Spatial Controversies” and “Descriptions and narratives” mini-studios.

For instance during the fist round students mainly work with: Field visit as a part of an integral ethnographic approach Photographic surveys Desktop research and literature review The second and third round have been more connected to the podcast activities and commented walks: Interviews with passers-by Participant observation / sound recording Mapping Throughout the semester students were guided in the selection of the most appropriate visual techniques and approaches, as well as opportunities, relevant information and occasions of observing some specific places during certain moments or events relevant for the city.

The visual techniques reflect then a variety and multiplicity of approaches: from minimal street photography (following a reportage kind of attitude) to edited visual productions (combination of graphic and photographic materials, collage, photo-composition), to hand-drawings and cartoons, till mapping. Each group freely and autonomously developed their own tools and narrative following skills, attitudes and the need to create a meaningful interaction between images and texts.

011

t

h

e

a

l

p

b

e

t

h

a

012

013

aperitivo Substantive. In English Appetizer. Drink used to whet the appetite before a dinner.

Substantive. Milanese tradition to get people together, offering every kind of drink and tons of food. Is a ritual that is followed by all kind of Milanese inhabitants. The people is allowed to eat until you wonder about how it is profitable for anyone. The creation of such tradition and its massification abroad the northern Italy is participating in the construction of Milan’s identity and, in a deeper approach, is also exposing its diversity on different dishes, prices and spaces that get together on the idea of sharing a table, a drinks and some food. Nowadays, the city identity and its reflection on its gastronomy is one of the ways that the migrants and the natives from a place can reflect their own identities and, in certain way, construct the city or cities. You can have an Italian, Chinese or Peruvian appetizer is just about discovering the many faces of Mediolanum. For example, normally an aperitivo would consist on hams, cheese, breads, focaccia and pasta but, with the new mixture, can offer foreign dishes, as sushi, nachos, couscous or paella among many other. The places that offers an aperitivo are scattered over the city, but some of the most famous and traditional areas to get an aperitivo has been, traditionally, in the centre of the city in places like the Navigli, Duomo, Arco della Pace, Garibaldi and Corso Como and, more recently, on Paolo Sarpi / Canonica, Porta Venezia, Isola and NoLo, but is remarkable to mention that you can find places with different bars that offers an aperitivo over the whole city. This omnipresence of the aperitivo also allows to present a most focused mixture at the scale of neighbourhoods and the experimentation with the tradition that enables the local appropriation of that practice.

Related words: apericena | spritz | sbagliato | negroni | north loreto (nolo) | navigli | corso como

Credits | Group 2: Manimekalai Sowrirajan Thein, Merlini Ayano, Perdomo GuzmĂĄn Jose Gabriel, Yao Jiaqi | Image by Alejandra Campo

014

015

ballatoio Ballatoio element is one of the main features that characterizes a very specific housing typology: the banister house that takes its name from the railing that runs all the internal balconies. Banister houses have been planned to accommodate the rise of workers in early 20’s. Born as poor houses, they keep a romantic feelings of history and community thanks to their design and main elements. Ballatoi are balconies that run along the internal walls of a courtyard house creating a collective access system. By a daily appropriation of that space, people exchange mutual courtesies and enhance relationship between houses and courtyard. In Milan, there are very characteristic areas as Corso San Gottardo, Brera or corso Garibaldi where the picture has been taken. All that areas follow the same simple rules of a shared space at the ground floor bounded by the walls and balconies of the buildings. What we can observe from site-visits is that this type of buildings, thanks to location and design, are transforming themselves with progressive entrance of new types of function and populations, young, creative, looking for the possibility of more social interactions.

Perhaps this kind of trend has guided the development of Cenni di Cambiamento where the courtyard and ballatoio are open to the external population thanks to the presence of commercial and social activities in the ground floor. Permeability is major transformation but doesn’t change the main functions of ballatoio that keeps its role as access system and a caretaker of the internal activities.

Related words: access | collective | courtyard | historical | common space | connection | typology | social housing

Credits | Group 4: Cristofori Alberto, Muhammad Sonia Olivia, Sharma Ishita, Zambrano Avila Andrea Viviana

016

017

boschi verticali The vertical landscape composition formed by individual intentions to enhance their private spaces through foliage which as a whole creates a positive externality to the public. People in multifamily residences use their balconies and windows as a way to personalize their space through different plant selections. When decorating intentionally their space with greenery, there is an overflow that cascades along the exterior walls of the apartment building. As these balconies are decorated by individual preference, the result experienced by the public is a wall of a variety plant species. A new layer appears in the city, a collection of diverse green elements that create a natural landscape which have not just an aesthetic as well as a social and environmental functions, acting as an element that can contribute to mitigate global warming by generating microclimate. Bosco Verticale, designed by Stefano Boeri, intentionally captures the randomness of vertical landscapes present along the walls of apartment buildings. Bosco Verticale has had a global influence, as Boeri has designed vertical forests for other countries such as China, Albania, and France. As this structure was built in Milan, with these balconies in mind, its global influence further strengthens this vertical landscape’s Milanese identity.

Related words: individual intentions | random | amalgamation | unintentional results self - organization | public | private | positive externality | balcony | facade

Credits | Group 4: Cristofori Alberto, Muhammad Sonia Olivia, Sharma Ishita, Zambrano Avila Andrea Viviana

018

019

centrale Centrale station is the place where local and Global meets. This area hosts variety of patterns, people and activities throughout the day mostly related with commuting, working and playing. You can spot people from different socio-economic backgrounds ranging from well-dressed guests of fashion industry to homeless people sleeping in the corners of the street, station-building and piazza. This diversity can be further observed in the retail outlets; from high brand shop-fronts to cheap supermarket, and similarly, expensive restaurants and local corner coffee-shops serving a multitude of people. There is a high sense of international as well as local spirit in Centrale which makes this place so vibrant and unique for Milan. One can easily spot local commuters, visitors from other Italian cities, European cities and also other parts of the world. The piazza has a strong presence of immigrants who have localized themselves as reflected by their fluency in Italian language and add to the vibrancy of the space with their informal activities. Last but not the least, the area is diverse also in terms of its buildings. Centrale station itself is a heritage building, accompanied by many others in the vicinity. The whole area is punctuated by modern buildings, vernacular buildings with different architectural programs ranging from offices spaces, hotels and retail to residential spaces.

Related words: centre | attraction | diversity | multi-ethnic | global

Credits | Group 8: Felici Fioravanti Geronimo, Machaidze Elene, Shaishmelashvili Mariami, Tarwani Ahsaas

020

021

cittĂ studi The CittĂ Studi district is included in Municipality 3 of the city of Milan. The area is highly attractive as it has two of the largest university campuses in the area. The number of inhabitants of the neighbourhood is 36,000 units along with a population of 34,000 students.

Most of the commercial activities are linked to the university: with more than 10,000 daily commuter-students with a capacity of 645 beds made available by universities or public bodies.

The great availability of collective spaces often leads to seeing students share spaces, activities, in moments of the day related to leisure, such as a lunch break.

The second element that distinguishes this area is its temporal functionality which is linked to the performance of educational activities, thus favouring a strong commuting and rapid shut-down in the area during the evening hours.

The economy of the neighbourhood, thus, revolves mainly around university staff and students. Consequently, phenomena such as reference demand, services and materials are unlikely to be strongly influenced by external factors.

For this reason, CittĂ Studi can be defined as an ecosystem of its own.

The large presence of means of transport, such as the metro stations and Lambrate railway station, makes it easier to reach the area on foot or by public transport. In fact, the Milan Polytechnic is moving in this direction, with the creation of the Campus 2.0 project, with the aim of creating a sustainable, high-tech and green space to tackle the problems of climate change and the sociality of people.

Related words: campus | nature | urbancore | ecology | resilience | development | social | public space

Credits: Filippo Perego

022

023

corso como The origin of the word Corso was born during the middle age in Rome and in Florence. The meaning of the word was used to describe the road that was crossed by horses, like “palio”. The importance of the word itself was a relevant element inside the city, during roman age. In this period the term Corso identified a walkable place where were the parades, and above all this idea was strengthened because of the roman carnival of the 18th century. Nowadays the word indicates city roads characterized by ancient traditions or as important part inside the city. Today we refer to a street close to elegant stores. Some example could be the Parisian boulevard, the big row of Turin, both arose because of the restoration of 1800, or Corso Como in Milan. Corso Como is a street with a diverse use, like for instance in one hand we have the use for shopping, similar to other shopping boulevards in Milan like Corso Buenos Aires, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, as a street that people can have a night life like aperitivo, similar to Navigli, Brera, Porta Venezia.

On the other hand, people that only grab food or pass by because it is a path that links Moscova with Gae Aulenti. Here we also have different types of architecture, the old one for instance Porta Genova and the new one like Porta Nuova. In the middle of them, in 1990 Carla Sozzani founded the 10 Corso Como complex which mix in the same restored building an art gallery (1990), a bookshop (1990), a design and fashion store (1991), café (1998), a small hotel (2003) and a roof garden (2009).

Related words: 10 Corso Como | fashion | art | food district | aperitivo | architecture

Credits | Group 12: Cardona Lopez Andres Felipe, Jreij Abdallah, Venturi Margherita, Zendeli Doruntina

024

025

expo / fr.eks’po/ s.f.inv. (esposizione universale) Expo, refers to one of the largest international events that unites together fairs and scientific-cultural exhibitions organized in the most important cities in the world. According to the Bureau International des expositions, these events are held every five years, lasts six months and develops a universal theme. Participants are classified in two categories: official and unofficial. The first Expo was in the 1852 in London and had as general theme “Industry of all Nations”. The last one was in 2015 in Milan and had as a general theme “Feed the Planet, energy for life”.

Located in the north-west of Milan on a surface of 110 ha, Expo 2015, involved 141 official participants and recorded 22.2 million visitors, of which 6.5 million came from abroad.

For the area various project have been combined. The company of A.C Milan, an important soccer team proposed the construction of a new Stadio, idea that was soon abandoned. But the most interesting projects proposed were that of Experia who want to built a smart, multi-functional district and that who wants to transfer the scientific pole of Statale university in the Expo area.

The Expo is now the place which hosts many huge events for Milan, and there is a considerable difference between the condition with and without events. During events, it is a vibrant place with lots of people. In comparison, without events, it’s more depressed and desolated.

Credits | Group 16: Guo Lei, Jahangirova Ismat, Ragazzoni Mara, Tancredi Silvia

026

027

fondazione Fondazione (or foundation) describes a non-governmental, nonprofit legal entity that has been established by endowment in order to provide money for organizations, institutions, or individuals for scientific, educational, cultural, religious, or other charitable purposes. There are two different types of foundations: 1. Public foundations that gain their funds from a variety of sources, which may include foundations, individuals, corporations, or public entities and 2. Private foundations that are typically endowed by individuals or families. In Milan one can find many foundations with various aims and missions, three of them will now be explained in more detail. “Fondazione Prada” is an institution dedicated to contemporary art which has organized many exhibitions in its facility in Milan. The focus of “Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli” is - equipped with a library and a documental heritage of international importance - on history, equality and on the analysis and proposal of models of interaction among citizens, their rights and their organizational representatives. “Fondazione Cariplo” has the mission to anticipate emerging needs of the society, to try new solutions and ultimately to make its best endeavours to disseminate successful solutions. Because of the architecture of their buildings and the creation of new public spaces the first two foundations play a significant role in shaping the landscape of the city of Milan and are important elements of the regeneration projects of their neighbourhoods.

Related words: culture | contemporary art | documental heritage | social needs

Credits | Group 3: Ereza Bokshi, Ludovica Lasagni, Marcin Nalepa, Jakob Tuna

028

029

festivalization A festival is a set of representations dedicated to an artist or an art, it comes from the word “fest“ which meaning varies between pertaining or relative to the party to being happy, fun and joyful. If we referred to this word we are talking about something that acts by letting itself be carried away by its natural affective impulses, without attending to what dictates the reason or the social convention: it’s the inertia of the fest that drives the actions. In Milano we can find numerous places which enable different mechanisms of information exchange to be activated in a public space, combining different activities within the same place, either simultaneously (mixité) or deferred in time (use mutability) are those considerable “flexible spaces”. Moreover, what it is possible to call “festivalization” is something spontaneous which appears, in some occasions, in these special places: the re-appropriation of public space through artistic action creates this kind of “festival” within areas and people can immediately feel it.

The festivalization of a city passes through the consolidation of these process. In this sense, the case of Triennale di Milano, represented in the postcard, is emblematic: born as an exposition site, nowadays it represents something way more various and vibrant, hosting dozens of events any year, also not directly related with the artistic or the design world. In the years, this kind of generalized dynamics made of Milan the perfect example of a festivalized city, thanks to interventions of tactical urbanism, parades, mutant events but also spontaneous actions made by isolated groups or individuals.

Related words: re-appropriation | colonization | flexibility | tactical urbanism | freedom | spontaneity

Credits | Group 17: Feng Ning, Fernández Sánchez Paula, Fischi Matteo, Farnaz Omouri

030

031

galleria The word galleria is used in the italian context as the word Arcade which is covered walkway, usually top-lit, either by means of a clerestory or with a glazed roof, with shops on both or one side. It is derived from the Islamic bazaar. These architectural forms incorporated and were inspired by technological and industrial advances that characterised modern urban spaces in the nineteenth-century, such as the introduction of gas lighting and electricity and developments in iron, steel and glass construction. They were an economic and social centre, both a product and a representation of diverse strands of social, cultural and political changes, which occurred in different cities and nations at different times throughout the world. The retail aspect of the arcades is incontestably a crucial one. Lining the pedestrian ways of the galleria were individual stores that provided specialised goods.

The huge Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan (1864–7—by Mengoni—the roof structure of which is of iron and glass) contains a wide assortment of spaces and tenants that makes it a social, cultural and business hub, an extension of the street outside. In the past these services intended to attract the custom of the rising middle classes to whose identity the conspicuous consumption of luxury goods sold in such establishments was central. But the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, although still associated today with the retail function is much more than just a place to buy goods, it has become a site of fashion and leisure, a place to see and to be seen due to the strong fashion character of the city that its location have given. A galleria is also a representation of social, cultural and political changes and it is possible to observe this in how other Gallerias in Milan were affected by the latest recessions the country suffered becoming less popular, with empty shops and as a sleeping place for the homeless.

Related words: arcade | shop | store | fashion | brand | consumerism | commerce | culture

Credits | Group 1: Chuquin Alarcon Paloma Lee, Elwaleed Abdelaziz Ali Sara, Papachristou Sotirios, Tenorio De Araujo Isadora

032

033

graffito A graffito is a writing or drawing scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place. Graffiti can be understood as antisocial behaviour performed in order to gain attention or as a form of thrill seeking, but it can also be understood as an expressive art form.

Derived from the Italian word graffito (“scratch”), graffiti (plural but often used as singular) has a long history. Graffiti was particularly prominent in major urban centres throughout the world, especially in the United States and Europe; common targets were subways, billboards, and walls.

Graffiti and street art are an anonymous tool used to express oneself and one’s point of view on almost anything, including politics, personal expression, culture, etc.

There are many graffiti artists who have chosen Milan for their street art works, giving walls, facades and places of industrial archeology a new life. Bovisa, Isola and Ortica are the Milanese districts where street art is most represented. In Bovisa he remnants of 19th century factory buildings and industrial factories, as well as the railway that marks the borders of Bovisa, contribute to its new “art and design” personality. In Ortica the Orme-Ortica Memoria project is redesigning the face of the neighbourhood. A cultural and identity itinerary, a journey of memory research that takes the Milanese and visitors out of the centre, to broaden the vision, emotion and knowledge of the city and its suburbs rich in stories and social energies.

Related words: street art | urban regeneration | tagging | scratch | mural

Credits | Group 6: Frenzen Verena Isabella, Golmakani Yalda, Ludovici Lucia, Pardi Alessia

034

035

grattacielo Grattacielo is the architectural concept born in the 19th century in the United States that has become a worldwide phenomenon within the city landscape. Milano is not new to this concept and like every other metropolitan city in the world, has become part of the new language of the infrastructure of the city. When looking at the current physicality of the city, we can identify a disruption of the horizontality is representative of Italian cities. The new language, a language of verticality, is a more global one, the existence of these elements represent the new layer of the “palimpsest” of the city, a layer which is more part of a shared global language than an individual one like in previous eras. In Milan, the presence of these elements has been increasing with regeneration projects like “Porta Nuova” and “Tre Torri” which have given the city and its citizens in the last decade a new perception and use of the city. The condition of “architectural horizontality” and “flatness” which is thought to be very representative of Italian cities is changing today and Milano has been the pioneer of this movement within the country. We can identify that the trend is not slowing down and more and more projects are being approved and developed by the Milanese municipality. So, what will this mean for the current physicality of the city? and Do citizens agree and recognize this as the future of their cities?

Related words: cloud scraper | skyscraper | verticality of space

Credits | Group 15: Goudarzi Farnoosh, Obregon Vazquez Luis Arturo, Rier Philipp, Yao Xi

036

037

ingresso /in’grɛs:o/ Sostantivo maschile From lat. ingressus -us , derived from ingrĕdi «entry» 1. Act of entering, in emphatic phrases (“Fare il suo ingresso nellla società”), or possibility to enter (allowed, forbidden, free, paying entrance) (“Bisogna comprare gli ingressi dell’Opera”).

2. Passage through which the entrance is permitted, specially in housings (“L’ingresso del palazzo”). 3. Beginning of a process (“L’ingresso della primavera”). The ingressi of Milan reflect the succession of architectural styles in the city.

The palazzi doors of the area of Corso Buenos Aires, an area planned

by Cesare Beruto in 1884, display mostly an Art Deco and Liberty inspiration, typical of the early 20th century. Very appreciated by the Milanese upper-classes as a distinction from the working classes, but also from the traditional noble families, these entrances use a variety of materials as follows. On the outer, public side, cement is predominant, in particular cemento bianco, a then innovative material of Lombardia’s cementifici, and the doors are always wooden. The private side, instead, shows several different textures and colours, such as mosaics and Lombardian marbles and carpets on the floor; the walls and ceiling are often decorated with plaster relieves, when the doors to the internal courtyard are frequently made of wrought iron and colored glass.

Ingresso refers not only to the entrances of the traditional residential innercourtyards, but also, notably, the idea of Milan as a gateway to Italy’s seat of economic power, culture, fashion, art, design and formidable history.

An apt theme that further calls to mind the concept of transitory spaces between what is normatively considered “public” and “private”.

Related words: threshold | gate | door | entrance | wall

Credits | Group 14: Pappas Théodora Nadia Mathilde, Quiros Van Outrive Ana Sofia, Valles Laraine Anne, Hautberg Juliette

038

039

linate Linate is the third international airport of Milan. It served more than 9 million passengers in 2018. In terms of movements, it means 114,000 flights a year. It’s located in the eastern part of the city and is deeply embedded with the urbanized north-eastern side of the city. It is spread over 350 hectares. It has two runways, the first one being intended for commercial aviation and the second one is dedicated to general aviation.

When entering Linate, we were expecting to see a lot of shops and restaurants where passengers spend some time mainly because they just have to wait for their flights. From the interview we had with the Moleskine saleswoman, she explained that a lot of people where entering the shop without saying «Buongiorno» and being like «wanderers». In this Moleskine shop, they build their brand equity about how you have the feeling to experience a unique journey.

All the current codes of consumption are to be found and of course, they want to make you feel in Italy by designing their shop windows with Italian colours and typical food.

Being in airports is often related to the idea of being anonymous due to the fact that the environment where we find ourselves in can be exemplified as a “corridor”, like a passage, where all the individuals have the same purpose: departure/arrival. In fact, the word anonymity is a good word to be associated to this airport.

Anonymity can be also something taken as an advantage, where you can have a personal space (privacy), and some of the interviewed persons seem to be quiet pleased with the idea of having a “boundary” with the others. When we ask users as well as working staff the airport about if the airport is special, the answer is always nothing very special. For nonItalian people being in this airport they can only feel themselves in Italy, for the language being used, but not in Milan.

Related words: unknown | irrelevant | same | meaningless

Credits | Group 7: Bensmaine-Wagner Lilas Manui, Meto Camille Marie Pierrette, Qian Tianjian, Teixeira Taveira Sofia

040

041

macao Macao is a collective based platform, part of a national movement that involves people, performers, entertainers, artists and cultural workers into political action in the last 20 years. Locally, it is derived from an artistic grassroots movement in Isola that fought against the gentrification of that neighbourhood. Macao can be seen as a stage for the city of Milan as it is an independent cultural, artistic and research place. Macao was originally based in Torre Galfa, from 2012, then moved to Palazzo Citterio in Brera, to finally occupy an abandoned building owned by Ortomercato.

It turned it into a community stage that consist on a series of platforms, which can be temporary or adjustable, like a theatre, on which actors, entertainers, or speakers can perform. This is what Macao represents, a focal point for the members of the audience.

In a broader sense, Macao is a place for expression, experimentation and improvisation through different means. In this sense it is not only referred to performers but also to everyday actors provoking interaction with others. Their goal is to defy the status quo by creating a space where the community can express itself culturally and politically and to get molded through these non-hierarchical interactions. This type of movement concerning the struggle for culture space also takes place in other locations of Milan such as CSO (Leoncavallo), the Cox 18, the Cascina Torchiera and most recent ones Lume)

Related words: distUrban | occupation | redefinition | stage | movement | culture, social | political | artistic

Credits | Group 1: Chuquin Alarcon Paloma Lee, Elwaleed Abdelaziz Ali Sara, Papachristou Sotirios, Tenorio De Araujo Isadora

042

043

porta Throughout history, in different periods in an attempt to defend the city, different rulers of Milan formed fortifications, with walls as the most solid and obvious one. To maintain the connections and entrances to the city, at several points of these walls some gates were created known as porte.

Porta can be defined as a gate that connects two different environments that would otherwise be separated by a wall or similar element. The passage created consists of horizontal and vertical elements and the thickness of the wall. Historically speaking, the wall around Milan has been built and experienced changes in three main periods, namely the Roman with six, Medieval with seven and the Spanish era with eleven porte. In all this periods, the porte had one main function: the entrance point to the city. However, as the city grew there was the need for the elimination of the walls. However, the porte were preserved as the historical heritage of Milan. Nowadays, the porte do not represent an entrance to the city, but have a metaphoric sense. They are perceived as landmarks and have given an identity to the neighbourhoods around and in a more general sense, to Milan. The porta is in many cases the centrepiece of the neighbourhood and as a consequence the name of the area in which it is located has the same name as the porta itself. The fact that Porta Venezia functioned as a display for the giant installation called “A Friend� by Ibrahim Mahama during Design Week 2019 shows the current role of the porte.

Related words: wall | expansion | monument

Credits | Group 10: Arkak Mahdi, Mahdavi Ayda, Scalcinati Simone, Wall Henrietta Maria

044

045

paolo sarpi Via Paolo Sarpi is a wide pedestrian street running through Chinatown, as one of Milan’s most obvious cultural landmarks. The street represents the duality and vibrancy through every part of it. It is a multi-commercial street, a destination for different age groups and different nationalities in a Chinese neighbourhood in the middle of a metropolitan Italian city.

Despite what would be thought, it is interesting to find that only 15% of the population in the neighbourhood is Chinese and the remaining is Italian. The street is comprised mainly of a combination of early 20th Century mixed-use buildings as well as more recently built ones, with retail commercial on the ground floor and residential in the upper floors As you are walking through Via paolo Sarpi you can feel a kind of peace filling the atmosphere around you. It’s hard to believe that this place is going through problems since 1999 when the commercial boom started to cause congestion with trucks on the street. Those problems have been solved by restructuring the tram line and the construction of traffic islands to discourage the loading and unloading of goods. However, a lot of work had been done to solve that, but new ones erupted on the surface, such as the reallocation of the residents from the neighbourhood and renovation of the buildings, which causes their prices to raise significantly.

Since 2011, when the street completely transformed into a pedestrian one, together with the development of the Garibaldi area, caused the prices to rise in the last 10 years by 10.3%. This gentrification has promoted a surge of new high quality restaurants and shops that have replaced the old, traditional boutiques.

Related words: Chinatown | isola pedonale | gentrification

Credits | Group 11: Arriaga Ayala Claudia Maria, Cavalli Letizia De Andrade Sharon Malta, Hala Abuelgasim Mohamed Hamedalla

046

047

questione casa The increasing number of people who are in the waiting list for a public house in Milan has become an important issue in recent years. A problem that on one hand is due to the lack of financial resources to afford adequate housing in the market, while on the other the opposite real estate speculation that favourites high price dwellings and selling, at the expense of affordable renting. Moreover, the public sector appears weak and unable to welcome families cut off from the market, both through incentive measures for rent and through its own housing stock, on which there are difficulties of various kinds: first of all the saturation of housing, secondly their state of maintenance. In 2013 in Milan there were about 7,000 public housing not assigned for lack of maintenance due to lack of resources by the owners (ALER and Municipality). In Lombardia alone, the resources allocated to housing have fallen from 400 million euros in 2002 to 44 million euros in 2016. This has had important repercussions both on the maintenance of the buildings, with the consequent difficulty of quickly reallocating the housing freed by the old tenants, and on the failure to build new housing.

The problems, today, concern the expulsion of people from the private market (both rented and owned), the lack of structural resources to be allocated to housing policies, the lack of accessible housing (public or private) and housing solutions for those who remain homeless. Although the resources allocated to the renovation of unused social housing have increased in recent years, the speed with which they are made available does not reflect the timing of the housing emergency.

Related words: public housing | abandoned | negligence | squatter | house market speculation | social stigma | belonging | vacancy | under-use | right to the house

Credits | Group 18: Casagrande Gabriele, Gorsi Jawad Hussain Hayat Panchagnula Krishna Dutt, Zarei Elham

048

049

san siro San Siro is a quiet, vast and self-sufficient public housing district of Milan part of the Zone 7 administrative division of city with its 10.000 residents showing a unique yet stable diversity. However, this diversity mutates itself because of the strong existence of the San Siro Stadium leaving the neighbourhood interrupted by the events and football games that are followed by almost 65.000 people. Adding to that, the stadium affects the urbanity in terms of transportation, traffic, economic activities and people by overturning the order of the neighbourhood upside down.

For example; transportation facilities increase and reroute to satisfy the mobility need of the huge flows of the fans. The Milan Municipality provides other alternatives like (tram 16) and buses (bus 90/91) for the match days. Also, to prevent this chaotic atmosphere, they close the metro stops of San Siro Ippordromo and Segesta one hour before and after the match. All these aspects show that, San Siro as the neighbourhood tries to adapt its life rhythm according to match timings where residents, daily commuters need to modify their lives with these transformations. Presence of people around indicate dramatic change between match times and normal times. Residents prefer to stay or go early to their homes to avoid crowd and heavy traffic jam. While in the match times surrounding of San Siro got dominated by different profiles of people. We can observe diversity in user profiles of San Siro with mainly fans, hooligans, women and even disabled people. To be more precise, we can talk about an exchange in pattern and intensity of fluxes in the surrounding of San Siro during the match times and daily times.

The comparison images in our postcard demonstrate the alteration between residents/daily commuters with heterogenous composition of population.

Related words: chaos | conflictual situation | diversity | craziness | disturbance of order

Credits | Group 9: Abdalla Youmna Ahmed Hassan Fouly, Elahwal Nada Ibrahim Omar Abdelhamid, Kapsiz Aysel, Rubino Giorgio

050

051

scali ferroviari The railway node of Milan is characterised by a radial structure converging towards the city centre. Such a scheme does not fully satisfy anymore the demand of mobility in the district, where the industrial and production system is now scattered into several small local units located within the peripheral and suburban areas of the city. Over the last decades, a significant part of the population moved from the city centre to the small towns within the metropolitan area. As in many other metropolitan areas, it was impossible for the railways to follow this sprawl and nowadays the majority of the recent development areas are not served by the railway.

Looking at a larger scale, the Milan rail node is one of the most important nodes in the northern Italy railway network and its importance is threefold.

At the international level Milan is directly connected with European cities, through international railway lines such as Milan-Chiasso–Zurich-Basel, Milan-Domodossola-Geneva, Milan–Turin– Paris, Milan–Turin–Barcelona.

At the national level Milan is located at the intersection between two of the most important national railway axis: ~~ Turin-Milan-Venice, an east – west axis, which runs through one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas. ~~ Milan-Bologna-Florence-Rome which constitutes the backbone of the Italian High Speed rail network.

At the regional and local level, Milan is the centre of trade and business in the Lombardia region, with several hundred thousand commuters reaching the city centre by train every day Related words: railway yard | railyard reclamation | new projects | transformation

Credits | Group 13: Azunre Gideon Abagna, Guo Haixu, Salehi Atefeh Vischi Chiara

052

053

sempione (park) Sempione is an Italian word derived from Simplon (Asse del Sempione), a mountain pass in Switzerland. The Sempione axis was opened in 1801, connecting Milan city centre to Paris, starting from Arco della Pace, once called Porta Sempione.

Sempione park is located in northwest Milan, with a surface of 116 acres, and it’s the second park built in Milan. The park was realised between 1888 and 1894 on the project of Emilio Alemagna.

It is also home to various sculptures and cultural buildings, such as: ~~ Castello Sforzesco, a fortress built in the XV century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan; ~~ Arco della Pace, a neoclassical gate opened in 1838 to celebrate the peace between European countries, designed by Luigi Cagnola; ~~ Arena Civica, entitled to Gianni Brera in 2002, was built in 1807 as an amphitheatre, designed by Luigi Canonica, and is nowadays a sport facility; ~~ Acquario Civico, built in 1906 for the Exposition, designed by Sebastiano Locati; ~~ Torre Branca, also called Torre Littoria, a steel tower 108 metres high, designed by Giò Ponti and built in 1933; ~~ Palazzo dell’Arte, today seat of Triennale di Milano, was built between 1931 and 1933, designed by the architect Giovanni Muzio; ~~ Teatro Continuo, an open air theatre built in 1973, for the XV Triennale, by Alberto Burri, and rebuilt in 2015.

The park is nowadays a well known place of leisure for both Milan inhabitants and tourists and provides services for different needs. It also frequently hosts bigger events, such as StraMilano, an annual running competition and Ricetta Milano, a multicultural lunch held in 2018.

Related words: public space | leisure

Credits | Group 5: Farnaz Frozesh, Seyedeh Elham Ashrafi, Claudia Pibiri, Afriz Liaquatali Shabnam Fathimaa

054

055

tram Milan’s first urban tramway network was opened in 1881, at the National Exhibition. At beginning, the tramway was operated by animal traction.

After the project for the electrification of the urban tramway network, in 1910, following an expansion of the network, line numbering was from 1 to 30. In the mid 20th century, some tramway lines was replaced by metro. Nowadays, there are 17 urban lines and 1 interurban line, and the tramway network is 181.8km long. Milan tram system is substantially centralized, with around half of the tram lines passing by, or terminating by the side or nearby, the Piazza del Duomo at the center of Milan. At the same time, some tram lines cross the city center and go towards some external neighborhoods, these lines link different landscapes. In addition, people with different ethnic groups and backgrounds encounter on the tram. The trams act as a trigger for stories. In this postcard, tram runs through the city center, old buildings on both side of the street are occupied by modern shops. Castello Sforzesco at the end of this road, the roadside billboard says “we are building a new story”. Old and new are mixed together, and the tram is moving through them.

Related words: streetcar | conveyance trolley | ropeway | tramway | public transport | mobility

Credits | Group 2: Manimekalai Sowrirajan Thein, Merlini Ayano, Perdomo Guzmán Jose Gabriel, Yao Jiaqi

056

057

week /wiːk/ 1. any period of seven days. 2. the five days from Monday to Friday, when most people do work. 3. a week in which particular events happen.

Milan is a place where a considerable number of theme “week” events are held every year. Some of them even have great influence throughout the world, for instance, Milan Design Week (Fuorisalone) attracted 343k visitors from 188 different countries in 2019. In recent years, Milan has seen the birth of a series of new theme “week” activities, such as Arch Week, Food Week, Piano city, etc. This kind of special activities, lasting approximately one week, usually happens once or twice a year and the exhibition places would be widely distributed in the metropolitan area of Milan. These events often have rich and articulated schedules, and within each specified period of times, many of the unexpected corners would be transformed into exhibition halls, music halls, etc., hosting varied experiences for public.

Unlike the famous Fashion Week, which perhaps an event even more elitist, there are several emerging ”week” events with a series of approachable exhibitions being held in some unexpected, neglected, or abandoned places. This kind of spaces are usually known exclusively to nearby residents, however “week” events could open them to the public. This process is temporary and reversible, therefore, it could be a possible way to activate decaying spaces and promote urban transformation. Several formal industrial areas in Milan like “Tortona” and “Ventura-Lambrate” have been “created” and re-branded according to these events.

Related words: event | fair | exhibition

Credits | Group 19: Golestani Golnaz, Li Shanglong, Qin Danning, D’auria Ivan

059

b

a

c

k

s

t

a

g

e

060

‘‘

Group 1

Macao emerged as a unique entity that differs from the city’s identity.

It is rare to identify spaces of spontaneity and social interchanges that do not involve companies’ marketing actions. (...) The picture was taken before a punk rock concert in the basement of Macao, the singer was performing the sound check, while the daughter of the second singer was playing with a trolley and a dog was being fed.

Sources: ~~ Macao website http://www.macaomilano.org/ ~~ Giovanni Hänninen fotografia http://www.hanninen.it/portfolio_page/cittainattesa/ ~~ “Vuoto a Rendere Reactivate buildings. Reconstruct communities” / Politecnico di Milano - MA thesis (Ilaria Degradi): https://www.politesi.polimi.it/bitstream/10589/85704/1/2013_10_ Degradi.pdf

061

062

‘‘

Group 1

(...) We have chosen this word because since the 16th century, Milan has been recognized as the Fashion Capital of the World (...). We recognized Galleria Vittorio Emanuele as one of the main representatives of the fashion culture in Milan (...) probably the second most visited attraction in Milan after the Duomo.

We also wanted to make clear how many of these gallerias are affected by the changing times, this is the reason to portrait (...) the contrast between the glowing Vittorio Emanuele with the decaying Galleria del Corso, which is just a few minutes away.

Sources: ~~ A Fashionable Promenade https://afashionablepromenade.wordpress.com/category/overseas-arcades/

063

064

‘‘

Group 2

The aperitivo is one of the most representative social features in Milano and is currently translating the diversity of the city and is constructing its identity with the idea of sharing a buffet and a drink. It gives an idea about what it means being Milanese today.

Field visit as a part of an integral ethnographic approach.

The main purpose visiting those places is to identify which are the relations from the people with their food: What kind of food is offered? Why? How the diversity of the Milanese population is reflected on the food and drinks offer?

065

066

‘‘

Group 2

Transport is one of the most important function of city.

When we talk about culture preservation, we usually overlook the transport part.

Sometimes transport is not only a function but also a carrier of culture.

Sources: ~~ Wikipedia: trams in milan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Milan) ~~ Progetto 90/91 (https://www.iosonosuper.com/progetti/9091)

067

068

‘‘

Group 3

We chose the word “Fondazione” because foundations play a key role in the provision of culture and arts in the city of Milan. Another crucial aspect was the architectural impact of the new buildings of the Fondazione Prada and the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli on the landscape of the city.

Sources: ~~ Grant Space https://grantspace.org/resources/knowledge-base/what-is-afoundation/ ~~ Cambridge Dictionary https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/foundation ~~ Fondazione Prada website http://www.fondazioneprada.org/?lang=en ~~ Frondazione Feltrinelli website http://fondazionefeltrinelli.it/en/ ~~ Fondazione Cariplo website http://www.fondazionecariplo.it/en/index.html

069

070

‘‘

Group 4

Our work started from the wonder of the internal courtyard of the city centre.

Then it has been oriented towards the courtyard that are really specific of the city of Milan. So, our goal has become to find the ballatoio experiences, historical and present, to show how this kind of element has evolved changing form but maintaining its main core.

Sources: Milano? La cittĂ di esterni, dal 1995, 2015, Hoepli Images: 1. Permeability and services in the ground floor in Cenni di Cambiamento 2. Appropriation of the internal court no more an house for poor population / Corso Garibaldi

071

072

‘‘

Group 5

We were looking into some urban elements that remind of Milan and the Sempione park is one of the most important landmarks of the city, that we found as a public space which attracts different types of people hosting different activities.

We started our work with sight-seeing in different hours of the day and its different crucial points of gathering, interviewing various groups of people who use the park.

Sources: ~~ Comune di Milano http://www.comune.milano.it/wps/portal/ist/it/vivicitta/verde/ parchi/parco_sempione ~~ The Free Dictionary https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Sempione ~~ Walks of Italy https://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/milan/parco-s

073

074

‘‘

Group 6

Working on the previous studio we recognised a high presence of street art in the district of Lambrate and therefore we were interested in finding out about its relevance in Milan. We have been to four different districts that are famous for their graffiti - Ortica, Bovisa, San Siro and Isola.

We took pictures of the art works and categorized them by their purpose into the meaning of urban regeneration and holder of a message.

Sources: ~~ Oxford Dictionaries https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/graffiti ~~ Graffiti Exhibition 2015 https://graffitiexhibition2015.weebly.com/purpose-of-graffiti.html ~~ Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/art/graffiti-art ~~ Jacopo Perfetti website https://www.jacopoperfetti.com/archive/projects/orme/

075

076

077

078

‘‘

Group 7

Initially, we have chosen four words that defined Linate Airport: anonymity, consumption, confusion, connection.

What was initially at stake for us was to demonstrate why Linate was a perfect example of this idea of «non-place» (...).

With the comics we wanted to portray in a funny and creative way the mood of the airport. It was a way of being realistic and inventive, using at the same time metaphors and irony.

Sources: ~~ Marc Auger – “places and none places” ~~ Linate Airport Milano official website ~~ Milano Prime Airports (Luxury Airports) official website ~~ «ICAO Global Aviation Partnerships, E-Gap», Multiplying Environmental Action, SEA report - Giovanni Falsina

079

080

‘‘

Group 8

Centrale itself represents the idea of centrality and attraction of central station in the historical city.

Moreover, in the context of Milan, Centrale Station and the surrounding neighbourhood can be read as rich in terms of diversity / cosmopolitanism, a variety of vibrant patterns.

081

082

‘‘

Group 9

The effects of San Siro stadium on the neighbourhood seem quite interesting to us.

Firstly, we started to work with some adjectives which described the atmosphere of San Siro stadium during matches (...) however we choose “San Siro” as our word as we thought considering the effects of the stadium on the whole district could be more effective. Thanks to San Siro stadium, the neighbourhood is also one the most known districts of Milan with its diverse composition of population during match times, and outside of match times.

Sources: ~~ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Siro_(district) ~~ Beatrice Galimberti website http://beatricegalimberti.com/2016/04/06/works/mapping-sansiro/

083

084

‘‘

Group 10

The term porta has changed its meaning: (...) a landmark that gives identity to the city and the neighborhood developed around it. In some cases we still talk about porta as an access to Milan: these are no longer monumental structures built in the past, but railway stations, such as Porta Garibaldi or Porta Genova stations.

These are, for those who come from outside Milan, metaphorical passages to be crossed in order to enter the city.

Sources: ~~ Dizionari Corriere https://dizionari.corriere.it/dizionario_italiano/P/porta.shtml ~~ Enciclopedia Treccani http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/porta/ ~~ Fuorisalone https://fuorisalone.it/2019/it/eventi/1307/A-Friend

085

086

087

088

‘‘

Group 11

We decide to continue working on the area we have previously choosen for the Commented City Walk mini-studio.

When people want to refer to Chinatown, they usually call it by “Paolo Sarpi”.

We choose this place as it represents the word Gentrification and is an important part for the City of Milano thanks to the diversity of stores and cultural mix.

Along the street we can find many examples of street food: for instance a Sicilian fast food chain decided to locate in the core of Chinatown coexisting side-byside with Chinese food kiosks and other Asian shops.

Sources: ~~ Milano Città Stato https://www.milanocittastato.it/evergreen/chinatown-milano ~~ Vivi Sarpi website http://www.vivisarpi.it/associazione/ ~~ Magzine https://www.magzine.it/quartiere-sarpi-la-cina-meneghina/

089

090

091

092

‘‘

Group 12

According to our first mini-studio, the Commented City Walk, which started from Moscova and ended in Porta Nuova, we have chosen to bring one of the most relevant element within this path, 10 Corso Como, that was characterised also by different usage. We chose photography as a means to recreate the artistic exhibitions recurring in this gallery and also to illustrate the different layers that cross this street in Milan, evolution from the old city to skyscrapers.

093

094

095

096

‘‘

Group 13

The choice was (...) to show that Milan’s railways are part of a major theme of urban planning and urban redevelopment and not just locally for each individual neighbourhood. (...) Three in-depth examinations were carried out for the railyards that currently present a project in the approval phase (Scalo Farini, Scalo San Cristoforo and Scalo Greco-Breda).

Sources: ~~ Archdaily https://www.archdaily.com/868864/mad-presents-historical-futuremilan-reborn-for-the-scali-milano-masterplan-during-milan-designweek ~~ Napier https://www.napier.ac.uk/~/media/worktribe/output-206785/icd41ch7milanrailpdf.pdf

097

098

099

100

‘‘

Group 14

[The word “ingresso”] alludes to the idea of portals and thresholds in Milan. (...) A theme that further calls to mind the concept of transitory spaces between what is normatively considered “public” and “private”. (...) We walked in the Loreto district and captured images of thresholds that strongly demonstrated the idea of private vs. public space, closed vs. open and the idea of transition spaces.

We (...) created a juxtaposition of two contrasting types of “ingresso”, playing with the aspect of materiality.

Sources: ~~ F. Ballabio, L. Hockemeyer, D. Sherer, P. Sparke, Entryways of Milan (2017) ~~ R. Bugini, L. Folli, Itinerario storico architettonico tra le pietre della storia milanese [Online] available at : assomarmistilombardia.it last consulted on May 1st.

101

102

103

104

‘‘

Group 15

By cropping the most recently added elements of Milan’s territory, not only are we highlight the new language of the city but at the same time how these elements disrupt the previously recognizable horizontality of the urban settlement. (...) Today, “Grattacielo” is part of the vocabulary of Milano because of the number of elements identified with this word within the city and the trend to keep building more.

Will this trend overtake the current state of the city? Is the new language recognized by the citizens of the city or is it a imposition of a global trend?

Sources: ~~ The production of space; Lefebvre, Henri; Nicholson-Smith, Donald; Oxford: Blackwell, 1991 ~~ Exposition: “Cloudscrapers: A century of Skyscrapers in Milan” – Ricardo Catella Foundation

105

106

‘‘

Group 16

We decided to select this word mainly because of the project involving the movement of the State University of Milan to the Expo area.

We witnessed protests and heard from friends who, being enrolled in scientific faculties, complained of this possible change. At the same time, this very large area, despite having hosted a huge international event, has not yet found a true identity for itself.

Sources: ~~ Progetto CMR http://www.progettocmr.com/project/experia/ ~~ Milano Città Stato https://www.milanocittastato.it/news/la-milano-del-futuro-ripartedallarea-expo-quali-sono-i-progetti-e-a-che-punto-siamo/ ~~ Università di Milano http://www.unimi.it/ateneo/111019.htm

107

108

‘‘

Group 17

The effort over the research of a particular topic, related with the social practices of Milan and the peculiar ways of using its public spaces, was not concentrated in a particular site. Our approach has been explorative, in this sense, and open to every unusual interpretation of the space in order to find the “festivals” behind the actions that we had the possibility to appreciate: not only events but also the acts of the everyday life.

Sources: ~~ The Urban Observatory https://theurbanobservatory.com/2011/11/01/ri-appropriazionedello-spazio-pubblico-attraverso-l%E2%80%99azione-artistica/ ~~ Planum. The Journal of Urbanism https://issuu.com/planumnet/docs/issuu_file ~~ RAE http://www.rae.es/

109

110

111

112

‘‘

Group 18

[The housing question] is one of the most troubling issues in Milan (...) in particular the situation of the public housing (ERP).

The methodology used involved research with newspapers, to acknowledge the current events and perception of the problem, and with academic papers, to have an “objective” point of view. We chose to explore areas mainly related to the problem in the local conception, Giambellino, Ponte Lambro and Calvairate, while collecting indirectly pictures from other neighbourhoods.

Sources: ~~ Ritorno a casa: le politiche abitative nel territorio lombardo tra analisi e prospettive di ridisegno, Gabriele Rabaiotti, Alessandro Balducci ~~ Mapping San Siro ~~ Chi fa le spese della rigenerazione urbana? Il caso delle occupazioni abitative a Milano, Napolimonitor

113

114

‘‘

Group 19

The picture was took from the main venue of Biennolo, which is a modern art event.

The place used to be a semi-abandoned panettone factory farther away from the city centre, however its unique spatial characteristics make it an ideal space for this exhibition. (...) Besides this exhibition, Biennolo also includes many small exhibitions that held in the studios of local artists which are widely distributed in the city.

Sources: ~~ Antonella Bruzzese (2017), Dismissioni, usi temporanei, eventi e rigenerazione urbana. Note intorno al caso milanese. Iconemi Eventi: la cittĂ nella dimensione del transitorio, 2017 ~~ https://milano.corriere.it/19_aprile_15/milano-design-week2019-salone-mobile-del-12-percento-brera-conquista-250-milavisitatori-f773cfdc-5f3e-11e9-b974-356c261cf349.shtml

115

116

117

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

l

m

n

o

p

q

r

s

t

u

v

w

z

Contemporary City 1 | Projects and Descriptions Prof. Laurent Devisme with Prof. Daniele Villa Ph.D Alice Buoli, Ph.D. Matteo Del Fabbro, Ph.D Mario Paris a.y. 2018-2019 www.contemporarycity2019.tumblr.com