Irene Frassoldati // Selected Works 2013-2018 by irene.frassoldati

Irene Frassoldati Selected works 2013-2018

Experience i.frassoldati@lse.ac.uk mobile +44 7753 984014 156a Upper Clapton Road, E5 9jz, London, UK

Education // LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE September 2017 - September 2018 MSc in City Design and Social Science UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA, Italy October 2007 - March 2014 BA+MSc in Building and Architectural Engineering ESCUELA TÉCNICA SUPERIOR DE ARQUITECTURA DE GRANADA, Spain October 2011 - July 2012 (Exchange year - Erasmus)

Work Experience // SMAQ ARCHITECTURE, URBANISM, RESEARCH, Berlin, Germany February 2015 - September 2017 POSITION: ARCHITECT // Competitions, Research Projects and Implementation of Master Plans // worked alone and in small teams, organised the work of teams of 3-4 during the last year. STUDIO LUPPI, Vignola, Italy April 2014 - August 2014 POSITION: ARCHITECT // post-earthquake restoration of the Carrobbio Castel // worked as part of a team of 3 with structural engineers. CICLOSTILE ARCHITETTURA, Bologna, Italy November 2013 - March 2014 POSITION: INTERNSHIP // Competition

Other Experience // PARKING LOFT ( http://raumlabor.net/shabbyshabby-apartments/ ) September 2016 Designed and built a parassite mobile house as part of Raumlabor’s initiative Shabby Shabby apartment IDEA COMPETITION “DI NUOVO IN CENTRO” 1ST PRIZE. February 2013 Ideas competition for the promotion of Bologna’s city centre. TUTOR FOR ARCHITECTURE WORKSHOP, Bologna, Italy 3-4 October 2018. The Architecture of Borders. “Architettura dei confini ed i confini dell’Architettura”. Archisteam.

Projects Urban Design and Architecture // # 01 - July 2016, Hamburg, Germany, “North South Axis. Living and working between the Canals”, 3rd prize. Master plan. [SMAQ] # 02 - May 2017, Hannover, Germany, “Badenstad Nue Insel”. Urban design and housing competition. [SMAQ] # 03 - May 2016, Berlin, Germany, “New Daum street, Spandau”. Urban design concept and housing competition. [SMAQ] # 04 - July 2015, Potsdam, Germany, “Island Nue Fahrland”. 1st prize. Urban design. [SMAQ] # 05 - September 2017, Rostock, Germany “City Hall Extension”. Architecture competition. [SMAQ] # 06 - July 2017, Berlin, Germany, “GUC Campus”. Master plan and architecture competition. [SMAQ]

Housing and Regeneration // # 07 - January 2017, Berlin, Germany, “Spring Siedlung”. Re-conceiving a modernist complex to introduce diversity in the housing types, mix in the program. Commissioned by DeucheWonung. [SMAQ] # 08 - February 2017, London, UK, “Reclaming Housing. A collective against displacement”. Studio project realised as part of MSc City Design and Social Sciences.

Community based Design // # 09 - February 2016, Mexico City-Berlin, “urbanXchangers”. Initiative of the Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft that aims to help urban practitioners to develop new practices based on the experiences of community initiatives. [SMAQ] # 10 - March 2014, Bologna, Italy, Idea competition “Bella Fuori”. Participatory process and design of a public space. [CicloStile]

Ideas Competitions // # 11- July 2015, Munich, Germany, “Parking Loft, Shabby Shabby Apartment”. Self built mobile home. Architecture Camp organised by Raumlabor, Berlin. # 12 - February 2013, Bologna, Italy, “Carpe Diem”, Ideas Competition. 1st Prize.

Essays and Thesis // # 13 - April 2017, Naples, Italy, “Anarchic Churces”. Urban Study realised as part of MSc City Design and Social Sciences. # 14 - March 2014, Terra del Sole, Italy, “Transition Town Terra del Sole”. Master Thesis realiesed as part of MSc Building and Architectural Engineering.

# 01

North-South Axis // Hamburg 3rd Prize // master plan, mixed uses, productive city, noise, waterways //

Invited Urban Design Competition // SMAQ in collaboration with MML landscape Living and working between the canals is a project about mixing and matching urban experiences to imagine an inclusive and diverse city: 3.200 housing units, 44.000 m2 productive spaces, school, kindergardens, allotment gardens. Site area: 41 ha.

The project area North-South-Axis is located in the heart of the river Elbe island Wilhelmsburg and there inbetween the three canals Ernst August Canal, Assmann Canal and Jaffe Davids Canal. It covers an area of about 41 hectares. The aim of the redevelopment of this area is a vibrant, urban district with a diverse mix of uses, including housing, employment, education and leisure. The proposal conceives integrated urban and open spaces. It draws on the potential of the site and the location between the canals, crosslinking the area with its surroundings and to overcome existing boundaries. The master plan articulates the longitudinal dimension of the site, about one km long, in three areas divided by two transversal green spaces. In this three parts, urban diversity and liveliness are achieved following three different logic which shapes three different urban characters. The northern part is composed of different typologies disposed around a central square. From the central square, connections reach the outside of the quarter addressing points of reference from the context. The geometry, hence, comes from the surroundings. The green spaces in the northern part of the design are compact. They have been imagined as large urban parks at the edges of the built form, like a soft buffer that manages the trasition from the buildings to the green. The southern quarter draws from the bar-code pattern of the existing industrial frabric, which is composed of large sheds. They are oriented along an east/west direction to maximise their accessibility to the canal. Green, pedestrian

pathways pass inbetween the buildings and connect the two canals. They, first, traverse the allotment gardens of the west strip. The pathways proceed through the residential strip in the centre, edged by the two main roads and, finally, arrive at the productive/commercial east strip. Typologies and functions are traded between the strips to realise a more complex mosaic, in which each area has a main atmosphere but also variation and finds a continuity with the surrounding areas. The design pays attention at both the large and the small scale. On the one hand, it creates clear images in the

1. Concept schemes of reference points;

figure-ground, and makes the quater recognisable. On the other hand, it enhances the vibrancy of the space through small variations.

2. Concept scheme noise emissions and noise protected buildings

Figure-ground of the master plan in the context of Willhelmsbug.

Section A A

3. Concept scheme: anals - grey, public space black, allotment gardens - dotted pattern.

Master Plan

Scheme of North, Centre and South quartersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; logic of variation.Transversal section of the South qarter.

Model Photos

The project area North-South-Axis is located in the heart of the river Elbe island Wilhelmsburg and on the island between the three canals Ernst August Canal, AĂ&#x;mann Canal and Jaffe Davids Canal and RotenhĂ¤user Strasse. It covers an area of about 41 hectares. The aim of the redevelopment of this area is a vibrant, urban district with a diverse mix of uses of housing, employment, education and leisure. As part of the invited international competition proposals were to conceive that integrate urban and open space planning adequately into the spatial environment, utilizing the potential of the site and the location between the canals, thereby crosslinking the area with its sourroundings and overcome existing boundaries.

# 01.1

North-South Axis // Hamburg Housing, allotment gardens //

Urban Design workshop, Second Phase // SMAQ in collaboration with MML The housing strip overlooking the allotment gardens and the Aussman Canal - residential and landscape.

Concept schemes: (1) repetitions and variation in the strip, (2) access points inbetween the buildings and through the buildings, (3) U-shape courtyard directed to the green area of the allotment gardens.

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The second phase of the development of the NorthSouth Axis is based on the winning proposal of the urban design competition by Hosoya Schaefer Architects. Four architecture practices, part of the competition, have been invited to reflect on three areas of the winning master plan.

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The site here shown explores the residential strip overlooking the allotment gardens on the South-East end. A sequence of U-shaped buildings separetes protected courtyards toward the green side of the allotment gardens and the canals from the noisy side toward the street. A ryhthem of high points signals the passages that connect the Loop, fats track bike path running along the allotment gardens, to the street side.

West elevation.

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Ground floor plan and outdoor disposition.

Regular floor plan.

# 01.2

North-South Axis // Hamburg housing, production, mixeduse, noise, logistic //

Urban Design workshop, Second Phase // SMAQ with MML lanscape Mixed uses: residential, light production, commercial - how can they live in the same block and building?

(1) residential (red) and not (grey) in the upper floors, (2) units for production (pastel colours) and commercial or exposition (blue) in the plinth, (3) accessibility, (4) connection to the water

The design for the site toward the Aussman Canal, in the North of the development, explores the possibilities of the productive city. It looks at mixed uses mixing, in the same building, residential, productive/commercial and office spaces. The form that the design takes decouples basement and upper floors. A bar-like logic, dedicated to light production, is considered for the lower floors while an enclosed block form hosts offices and housing on the upper floors.

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East elevation. Street Elevation.

Regular floor plan.

Ground floor plan.

# 02

Urbanes GrĂźn // Hannover master plan, housing, production, urban island, noise //

Urban Design Competition // SMAQ The challenges of urban infill - how to grow inward when brownfields are noisy and divided from the urban fabric? How the new development can become a place even in its isolation? What are the possibilities in a noise-polluted area?

The design competition Urbanes GrĂźn considers the possibilities to develop as a mixed quarter, with productive and residential space, a patch of leftover land in the outskirts of Hannover. Nowadays, in the attempt to contain urban sprawl, cities concentrate their new developments on brownfields and leftover spaces. These sites have the advantage of being close to the centre, but, often, they had been left undeveloped because of conditions that are not optimal for residential use. These features pose new challenges to design. The area is located, as an island edged on every side, at the intersection between two heavy-traffic and noisy roads and a railway track. How the new development can become a place even in its isolation? To answer the aforementioned issues, the master plan is constituted of a double row of buildings that divides the site into three concentric areas. First, from the inside out, comes the public space. Secondly, there are courtyard-like spaces between the double row of houses. Their intimate atmosphere is stressed by a different material, used to emphasise the enclosed character of these urban rooms. Finally, toward the outside, the development meets with the allotment gardens and the landscape. The configuration of the master plan shields the inner part of the quarter from the noise and creates a protected, inner-open space at its core.

Master plan scheme. Noise emissions, urban zones and accessibility.

Figre-ground of the master plan with its surroundingsand in the context of the palinsesto.

Example of typology study // section.

Example of typology study // regular floor and ground floor.

# 03

Daumstresse // Berlin, Spandau Housing, big-scale & small scale, landscape, lakescape, urbanscape //

Urban Design Competition | SMAQ in collaboratin with POLA landscape The residential quarter, on the river of the Spandau Lake, explores how to incorporate the landscape in the built environment and the tension between big scale buildings and diversified housing types. Site Area: 2,1 ha. Built Area: 41.649 m².

The urban design competition Daumstrasse concerned the residential development of an area of a coastal area in Spandau. The large-scale master plan responds to the vast landscape of Lake Spandau and matches with the scale of the industrial historical structures in the South of the site and the large blocks built in recent decades in the North of the Spandau Lake. Starting from the two very different eastern (lakeside) and western (street side) edges of the area, the site has been zoned into three characteristic urban spaces: the road along Daumstraße, the shore zone on Spandauer Lake and an inner-district neighbourhood. The master plan’s structure reacts, on each side respectively, to the noise emitted by Daum street and the charming Spandauer Lake creating a soundproofed built curtain along the Daum Street and a meandering development along the Spandauer Lake. In terms of urban design, the buildings define an internal quarter promenade with five courtyard areas as intermediate space along the walkway, which spans between the listed industrial halls, in the North, and the listed ensemble with the water tower and boiler house, in the South, located at the extremes. The curtain buildings along Daum Street protects the inner part of the quarter from the traffic noise but also contributes to formulating a mixed area, with retail and services located toward the main road. The sequence of buildings on the street side, together with their shape, pace the street and marks points of passage. In this way, the permeability of the new area to the adjoining quarters and to the shore has been

guaranteed. A dot building located in a public playground, in the centre of the patch, hosts leisure and social facilities. His function is to strengthen the link of the planned area of the “Salzhof East”, over the street, to the waterfront promenade on Spandauer Lake. The meandering development toward the Spandau Lake divides and interlocks the urban space, on the inside of the development, with the landscape space, on the water side. The meandering development widens and forms large “bank foyers” on the lakeside to spatially and visually incorporate the Pioneer Island, the vast and quiet lake space into the living environment of the new development. The spaces, the hard surfaces and the soft green, allow different community activities.

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Axonometric view of the project: (1) Daumstrasse, (2) Quarter promenade, (3) urban courtyard, (4) water courtyard, (5) water promenade, (6) water tower.

# 04

Island Nue Fahrland // Potsdam 1st prize // master plan, housing, lakescape, atmospheres //

Urban Design Competition // SMAQ The design elaborates the qualities of the unique natural and cultural landscape of the Potsdam’s water system. It shapes accordingly to the features of the wider surroundings different atmospheres for the future living environment.

The island Fahrland, located ten minutes north of Potsdam city center shall be developed as a residential quarter The future quarter is situated in the cultural landscape context of the River Havel: The island Neu Fahrland emerged with the construction of the Sacrow-Paretz canal and is strongly shaped by the linear section of the waterway. In contrast, the other shores are soft and tree-lined, in particular along the north-western bay opposite the Island of Robinson, which is a gem with boat moorings and jetties. A special landmark of Neu Fahrland is the listed Fährgut building by architect Ludwig Persius. It is part of the “Prussian Arcadia” formulated by Peter Joseph Lenne, Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Ludwig Persius and marks the entrance to Potsdam.

Urban Design and Open Space // The design elaborates the qualities of this unique natural and cultural landscape to create a characteristic future living environment. Three types of open space with specific “addresses” are formulated:

Avenue // An avenue with a double row of chestnut trees spans between the two bridgeheads (Fährgut and Brücke des Friedens). Avenues originally served the optical connection of destinations; the new Neu Fahrland chestnut avenue connects Potsdam with its landscape surroundings.

Canal // The section of the Sacrow-Paretz canal with its linear wharf is elaborated by a building edge opposite the forest edge at the other side of the canal. Together, the linear elements form a distinctive landscape element

within the Havel landscape. The building edge’s rhythm is formulated by a chain of Canal Villas. Due to its location on the canal, these villas have a unique address in Potsdam. The maintenance street of the canal is turned into a promenade that widens at the western tip to an intimate square-like public space between bay and canal. With its small café it might into a day trip destination.

Bay // The soft tree-lined landscape of the bay is drawn into the center of the new quarters as a neighborhood green area with distinctive solitary trees. This “Bay Garden” has many uses; it forms a playing surface and serves rainwater retention. The buildings in the heart of the quarter have their address at the Bay Garden. In the area of the bay, between tall trees, three “Robinson Bay Villas” stand freely. The park-like design of the private plots allows for visual permeability while boardwalks ensure the public accessibility of the bay with jetties. Three landmarks – the historic Fährgut complex, the “bridgehead” at the Brücke des Friedens and the “Light House” at the pier – act each with great spatial visual links into the Havel landscape. They mark the field in which the three types of open spaces interact and anchor the quarters within the lakes and conurbation of Potsdam.

Previous page: master plan visualisation. Below: View of the row houses on the Sacrow-Paretz canal and pictures of the shore on the Robinson Island (below) and the Sacrow-Paretz Canal (above).

Master plan with pictures to characterise the three different conditions of the open space thay refer to. Below: areal views at different scales of the Neu Farhland Island in its context.

Elevation Sacrow-Paretz Canal

Elevation Tschuldistrasse

Model views rapresenting the three different characters corresponding to the three conditions identified for the surroundings. In order, from the left: Robinson Island, Sacrow-Paretz Canal, Tschuldistrasse.

# 05

City Hall Extension // Rostock Architecture // public building, heritage, market square, //

Architecture Competition // SMAQ The Rostockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s City Hall grew in time, piece by piece as the city itself. The design imagines the last jest to complete the historical ensemble with an administration building, a wedding room and the city parliamentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room.

The Town Hall of Rostock occupies for its full stretch the East side of the main square of the city, the Martek Square. The Town Hall is not the product of one design jest, but rather the effect of the sedimentation of different addictions throughout centuries. The last act of this ensemble of historical styles is the new design for the extension, made of two parts.. Firstly, as the cornerstone of the block, there is the Doppelgiebelhauses (double pitched-roof houses). The building hosts the Parliamentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room and a wedding room. The design is inspired, in the dichotomy between materiality and verticality, by the image of an historic building that existed in the same position until the Second World War. The second element of the addition is the administration building. The challenge for the new construction is to organise a dense program that requires offices open to the public, with large waiting areas, and offices not accessible by the public. The building merges with the context, negotiating a high difference in the ground level from one side of the plot to the other, finding a number of twists and step backs. The central courtyard is the fixed linchpin around which the movement revolves. The organisation of the hallways also follows the same dynamism. They reach the facade and align the views to reference points in the surroundings such as the bell towers.

City Hall Extension

Axonometric representation of the City Hall complex, visible the historical ensemble together with the new addition.

Next: North Elevation. East-west Section, cutting through the bridge connecting the two parts of the project. East Elevation. On the following page: Floor plans of the ground floor, third floor and fifth floor. Perspective view of the Doppelgiebelhauses from Am Schilde Square.

# 06

German University of Cairo Campus // Berlin education, housing, industrial and heritage site, indoor squares //

Urban and Architecture Competition // SMAQ The GUC University occupies an area characterised by historical, bricks and steal, industrial sheds. The new expansion aims to blend in the special atmosphere of the area an intense program of lecture rooms, leisure spaces and a student hall with 300 rooms.

The brick and steal listed sheds are the characteristic elements of the area. The competition considers the reuse and transformation of four large halls, the addition of new volumes and the integration of the existing academic building. The design is inspired by the bar-code rhythm of the existing buildings. The hollow halls of the old production spaces are transformed in the inner multipurpose cores of the campus. New halls, with similar geometries and materials (green painted steel constructions), extend the logic of large multi-purpose spaces around which the programmed spaces are disposed. The architecture proposal is further detailed for the boarding house. The building have to include 300 single rooms that can be converted into double rooms in summer to host more students during the time of the summer schools. Following the tradition of the historic industrial buildings, the architecture of the boarding house picks up on the combination of steel skeleton construction and brick architecture. The U-shaped part of the building that is visible from the outside is clad with a green metal façade. The “U” spans over the large hall, where the entrance hall and the multipurpose dining room of the restaurant are located. In the gap in-between the two slabs and the “U” are situated the communicative circulation and the common areas.

The Campus

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The sequence of halls and stripes that builds on the features of the contest to knit the new intervention in the heritage character of the area. Next page: Axonometric view of the existing and new building, with emphasis (in green) on the system of halls, the existing ones (1 - listed sheds, 4 - existing accademic building) that are integrated and those of new construction (2 new halls, 3 - boarding house hall). Above: Perspective of the site. Model photos showing the bar-code rhythm developed in three bands. Next: Possible uses of the U hall structure of the boarding house, when fewer rooms are required. Below: Section cutting perpendicular to the three bands and showing the gym, the multipurpose space and the boarding house as a sequence of halls.

The Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; House

Axonometric schemes of the room configurations and boarding house floor plan. Below: external facade and section through the boarding house.

# 07

Spring Siedlung // Berlin urban analysis, densification, production, street-fronts //

Research by Design // SMAQ Study for the densification of a modernist, residential quarter densification without demolition, keep production in the city, add collective areas against the lack of space in the apartments, rethink the street front.

Spring Siedlung is a modernist, residential quarter developed in the American sector of Berlin in the 60s. Today it sits in a privileged position in Kreuzberg, one of the most known and rapidly changing boroughs. The quarter is a property of the housing company Deutsche Wohnung, who is initiating a process of rennovation of the entire area after decades of scarce investments. The study started with the urban analysis to then develop three possible interventions. In the last years, the housing market in Berlin saw a quick rise of the housing prices. The city that had, for decades, a high ratio of empty units, is today starting to experience a housing shortage. In Berlin, political activism has been able to secure rent rise control. Thereafter, many housing refurbishments are aimed at circumventing this rule. The research seeks ways to improve the area without pricing out its current inhabitants. The goal of all the interventions is to increase diversity in the area. The design introduces variations in the apartment types. the design introduces a mix of functions in a purely residential quarter: workspaces, for offices, shops and production. In this way, it is possible to re-activate the groundfloors and also, with the new volumes, to re-formulate the relationship with the street.

The site throughout time

The Spring Siedlung is located in a field of tensions of different urban planning systems. To understand the specific form and position of Spring Siedlung, it is helpful to consider the historical development of the place. Which structures have permanence and which ones can be rebuilt? Which of them have a relevance when thinking about a regeneration scheme? Yet, the area was neither part of the founding core nor of the baroque suburbs. Since the second, planned city expansion of Berlin in the 19th century different conflicting models have shaped the structural development of the area: the courtyard-block type was the paradigm before the destruction of the second world war. It was characterised by a deep, articulated, mixed-use structure. After the war, the reconstruction followed modernist principles, based on an orientation towards sun, air and automobility, and most recently the Critical Reconstruction, initiated with the IBA 87 and

Spring Siedlung in plans and historical photos belonging to different periods.

continued in the Inner City Plan, which sought to re-establish

Spring Siedlung area.

the benefits of the mixed, road-oriented block structure.

Friedrichsstadt

Luisenstadt

Kรถpenicker Quarter College-house

Military Barrack 1800 - Kรถpenicker Quarter.

1910 - Luisenstadt.

1945 - The effects of the war bombing.

THE MILITARY SITE Luisestadt and the consolidation of the block structure orientated to align with the triangular axis of the previous expansion.

THE BLOCK STRUCTURE Luisestadt and the consolidation of the block structure orientated to align with the triangular axis of the previous expansion.

WORLD WAR II - THE BLANK 1956 the city after the bombings has been largely destroyed.

1800 // military site

1910 // block structure

1953 // the blank

Map of the density of the city as GFZ (built density). The area of the Spring Siedlung has a GFZ between 1,2 and 1,5, which is lower than in the surroundings of the city.

Otto-Suhr-Siedlung Plan of the SĂźdtangente Spring Siedlung

1972 - The city fabric in the 60s and 70s.

1991 - after the IBA project of 1987

1999 - Study of the Planwerk Innere Stadt.

THE MODERNIST DREAM 1962 the city has to be reconstructed quickly. The Spring Siedlung project is built, influenced by the never realised plan of the highway, that aimed to realise a modern car city.

COMPLETION The finalisation of the Spring Siedlung. The reconstruction doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t follow mostly the historical shape but maintains mostly the streets network.

PLANWERK INNERSTADT 1995 A comprehensive plan for the city of Berlin for the forthcoming years. The plan aims to restore the block structure.

1962 // the modernist dream

1987 // IBA project

1995 // re-plan the block

From Context

The Urban Form

Structure of blocks, green spaces and the loose structure of the modernist quarter.

The network of the main streets and axis, with the emphasis of the main nodes.

The Functions Mix

The mix of existing functions: red-cultural, orange-social, light blue commercial, blue - administration, yellow - services.

Influence areas of different users. Red - tourism VS blue - more local fruition.

To Concepts

# 1 Dot to Dot

# 2 Block and Zoo

# 3 Cabinet of Modernism

OPTION 1 // DOT TO DOT. Free standing small-scale building.

OPTION 2. // BLOCK AND ZOO.

OPTION 3// CABINET OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE.

OPTION 1 // Following the same logic of modernist design,

OPTION 3.B // Garden of Modern Architecture // Park courtyard

OPTION 4 // Free elements // From stripes to grid.

Berliner Patios

The option Berliner Patios is based on the traditional typology, once common in Berlin, of large blocks that accommodated residential units, productive functions, shops and animals. The great mix was organised in a sequence of more and more private, as far from the street, courtyards. The option Berliner Patios plays again with a scale confusion. It knits together the separate buildings in a superblock and defines pockets-courtyard. They can be the productive courtyards connected to labs and workshops or green spaces for leisure. This proposal aims to marry two paradigms, the old city of blocks and courtyards and the airy modernist buildings in a vertical overlaying. The blockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s logic is recreated at the ground level, while the North/South orientation that follows the light and privileges the exposition remains above.

Next and next page: views of the transfomed quarter.Below: Master plan of the option Berliner Patios.

Principles // Productive city

Next: 1. network of street and private accessibility, with the track for waste collection and fire brigades. 2. Functions at the ground floor level: light blue - commercial/production; red - residential; orange social; yellow services.

Minimum intervention on the existing units.

IN THE NEW STRIPES

Shops and commercial units. They offer a lively interface toward the street.

Productive spaces, laboratories and workshops. They offer placs to work for those with no higher education. Located toward the courtyard.

TOGETHER WITH LEISURE AND CULTURAL FACILITIES

Common areas for the residents.

Office spaces and co-working.

# 08

Reclaiming Housing // Thamesmead, London urban analysis, regeneration, displacement, alternative processes //

Studio Project // MSc City Design and Social Sciences. Regeneration for whom? The project investigate displacement in connection to the re-development of Thamesmead and imagines as a possible alternative a process of regeneration without demolition grounded in collective actions.

Thamesmead has been at the core of housing debates in England for the last fifty years, from its conception as a city of the future in the 60s and its abandonment in the 80s, to today’s current large-scale regeneration. In our research, we have first tried to understand the different dimensions of displacement among social tenants and secondly, proposed a participatory strategy to increase the agency of the inhabitants and define an alternative to current regeneration processes.

Thamesmead Thamesmead is situated in outer south-east London, falling within the boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. The area currently houses 50 000 people. Currently undergoing phases of regeneration, it is representative of many housing challenges that London faces today. Thamesmead was first constructed by the Greater London Council in the late 1960s as a modernist New Town planned in response to London’s continued post-war housing shortage. The management of the estate has since passed through the hands of multiple organisations. In the 1980’s, the prime minister, Margaret Thatcher sought to shift power away from the state and encourage private investment. [1] This brought about high housing costs in the UK. Council budgets were cut, the introduction of the “Right to Buy” encouraged tenants to buy their council homes, and councils sold their estates to housing associations. [2] With the temporary suspension of the Greater London Council in 1985, housing

in London became primarily governed by the private sector.

renters increasingly vulnerable to displacement. This has

This permanently changed the nature of housing in London.

made the provision of social housing and affordable housing

Housing became more of a capital asset than a right.

increasingly important. What is evident in many regeneration

Thamesmead was eventually sold by the public sector

plans throughout the city is that affordable housing is

to the private sector due to additional austerity measures

being prioritised at the expense of social housing. What we

adopted by the U.K government to reduce housing budgets

have come to find is this definition of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;affordableâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; can be

for local councils. [3] In 2014 Thamesmead housing estate

questioned as it often excludes citizens within lower income

was acquired by Peabody Housing association who now

brackets.

oversees the management and maintenance of the area.

In the wake of the new London Plan, published by

When stock transfers from councils to housing associations,

the Mayor of London in 2018, it is imperative to interrogate

tenants lose many of their rights and experience greater

how housing is delivered in the city. The London Plan also

insecurity. One of the rights tenants lose is the right to

stresses the importance of improving the existing housing

manage their properties collectively and control spending

stock and building strong and inclusive neighbourhoods,

within their estates. This is currently the case within

especially in the context of accelerated urban growth and

Thamesmead as the area is undergoing regeneration with

densification.4 The redevelopment plan of Thamesmead

the introduction of a Crossrail station at Abbey Wood nearby.

displays the principles of densification, but it has become

Peabody has since launched a ÂŁ1 billion regeneration plan

increasingly apparent that challenges are arising for current

to capitalise on the opportunities of the area.

residents in the face of redevelopment.

This has left many residents in the area feeling insecure about their housing arrangements as some residents are being served with compulsory purchase orders. Additionally, the large population of social renters

Regeneration, demolition, displacement: TINA? The research specifically focused on the area of

in the area is also uncertain of its future as they feel the

Wolvercote Road, as Peabody manifested the intention

plans for regeneration excludes them. Although there

to demolish it in the future, during a second regeneration

have been agreements that Peabody would rehouse those

phase, for which there are not yet detailed plans. This study

who are displaced these responses often lead to mistrust

aims to investigate a possible alternative to demolition that

from the residents towards Peabody as they question

achieves better urban and living quality without displacing

who the regeneration project is aimed at. In the past,

residents.

regeneration has been used as a tool to drive out current

Displacement has traditionally been understood

residents in order to foster a new identity. A large part of the

as physical dislocation [5]. However, this phenomenon

regeneration plans of Peabody is to demolish and redevelop

emerges not only through migration-out but also related to

portions of the land. In addition to the historic lack of

feelings of alienation and uncertainty [6]. We have tried to

investment in the area, problems associated with the design

observe displacement through census data complemented

and the quality of the buildings have been enough to justify

by a more ethnographic and interviewed based approach.

redevelopment. The forthcoming proposal questions whether

Previous research relates the impact of displacement with

demolition is the best way to regenerate considering the

unemployment, elementary occupations, as defined by the

current environment and the negative effect this would have

National Office for Statistics, single parents families and

on the residents of Thamesmead.

ethnic minorities [7]. These conditions emerge as likely to

The housing market in London has become

compound the effects of displacement, as these groups

increasingly difficult to access. Homes have become

result less resilient in this situation and struggling more to

assets which creates a significant amount of economic and

cope with the situation. The features mentioned contrast

bureaucratic advantages for owners while disadvantaging

with the proximity to the new development aimed at a

those who do not have such assets. In the current London

different, more affluent, type of resident. The area already

housing climate, this has made both private and social

has high density so the demolition of the buildings cannot be

KEY 29-42 43-74

Thamesmead

75-110

Unemployment

Social

Foreign

Elementary

Renter

Born

Occupation

120-160 170-250 Density maps in London and Thasmesmead detail. Source: Prepared by the authors with census data, 2017. The density of Wolvercote Road towers oscillates between 329.6 and 268 persons per hectare. This density is twice the average of London 119.41 persons per hectare.

Scheme of the different impact of projects of regeneration and displacement on different types of tenants. Homeowners, renters and social renters have a different set of right, they are likely to experience displacement in a very different way and to go through different pathways.

KEY London Wolvercote Road Comparative socio-demographic characteristics of the population in Wolvercote Road and in London. Source: prepared by the authors with census data, 2018.

20,6 m

intended as a tool to increase density in the same proportion as in the other areas of the project. As the graph in figure

Blind

shows, Wolvercote road population concentrates these socioeconomic features above Thamesmead and London’s average. Furthermore, most of the households are social

Staircase

Elevator

tenants and a third of the inhabitants are foreign-born. in Wolvercote Road there are six 12-storey towers. Each tower has a floor area of 350 sqm with two 2-bedrooms and two

1-bedroom apartments, connected to the central circulation Blind

core.

Blind

In order to complement this demographic data, we participated in the first advocacy event of the Home at Risk Campaign. This campaign aims to resist displacement related to the current regeneration plan. The event consisted

20,6 m 7m

of the screening of the documentary ‘Dispossession’ and a

4,5m

Q&A panel with a journalist, a lawyer, politicians and activists.

This allowed us to get an insight into the feelings of the people in the area. Most of the questions asked during the panels revolved around two themes. First, residents asked if

17,6m

there were ways to save their houses and what actions could be effective. Secondly, many questions were directed to the lawyer and manifested confusion about residents’ rights and legal procedures. One of the homeowners asked if there was a law that allowed someone else to build on his property and if the council could offer him protection. These conversations pointed towards the existence of an information gap. On another visit to the area, we interviewed some of the residents of the Wolvercote Road towers. The lack of information was again a common feeling among the residents. Some of them pointed out that Peabody’s consultation was not in depth and that it did not fully collect the inhabitants’ opinions. One of the residents, a middleaged working man, complained about the inefficient heating system. When asked about the consultations organised by Peabody, he said that he couldn’t attend it because it was organised during his working shifts. The main findings were the feelings of alienation and uncertainty among an already economically fragile population. Residents have no agency to interfere, alter or influence the decisions made for them

10,9 m 9,9 m 4,5 m

by Peabody.

Intervention Our question was hence: Is it possible to develop a regeneration alternative that reconciles residents security

Flow diagram of the process. Source: prepared by the authors, 2018. From the formation of the community task force, to the collective and finally to the desification without demolition of the tower.

Kitchen

Living Room

Kitchen & Livingroom Floor Extension

Axonometric view of exsisting apartment. At the moment the rooms are small and a common complaint amongst the residents is that the apartments are dump and cold. Axonometric view of the apartment after the expansion of the floor plate. This requires to close down the kitchen window, to demolish the built in cupboard and expand the living room. It allows to change the external cladding adding termic insulation.

Common Green Area

Community Room

New Cladding and Insulation

Small Shops

Collectiveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Management Office

Bike Parking Possible new ground floor posibilities with diversified activities and active private-public interface.

Workshop/ Small productive space

and the council’s obligation to provide more housing?

security and partially decommodifies housing by controlling

We proposed a participatory process with three

the resale of individual units. To replicate this process

objectives: increasing people’s agency in the decisions

at the scale of London we propose that the Mayor of

relative to their housing, precluding displacement and

London create a Task Force that extends knowledge about

increasing housing stock by densification without demolition.

housing to areas under regeneration. This task force could

The first objective aims at the construction of

be established as an expansion the guidelines to estate

common knowledge. We thought of this first part as being

regeneration set in the document “Better Homes for Local

led by a research unit or a think tank. We have understood

People” and can be incorporated with the Mayor of London’s

housing knowledge as a common pool resource that enables

recent announcement of conducting a ballot among the

inhabitants to apprehend their situation and allows to

residents before regeneration processes. We wanted to

formulate alternatives [8]. The outcome of this step is also

make a statement. The solution to housing the city cannot

the formation of a Community Task Force, a group of highly

only have to do with adding more built stock without

motivated residents that shares housing knowledge and

considering the distribution of the existing and the future

collaborates with the academic think tank managing the next

built stock. Post-war state provision and after that market

two steps of the participatory process.

initiative has failed to provide secure forms of dwelling.

The objective of the second step is to assess the

Collective arrangements through participatory processes can

management, financial and legal implications of different

be the tool to redefine power dynamics and ultimately create

collective arrangements. In this step, the facilitators invite

a resilient system that provides certainty to city dwelling.

a team of experts on management, law and architecture to accompany the meetings. The outcome is a decision on the most desired and feasible collective arrangement, meaning that there are ownership and power redistribution between Peabody and individual residents. We have thought of two collective agreements: a co-operative and a community land trust (CLT). This may be of interest for the debate later. The third step has the objective to submit a planning application with an architectural proposal, co-created between residents and the team of experts. Adding housing units is a requirement for funding from Homes of London, as well as the Neighbourhood Planning funds. This requirement also serves to generate revenue for the collective’s longterm management. According to our spatial analysis, there are up to 345 m2 of available space to increase housing units as, communal or commercial space. The increased space could include co-working facilities, shops or indoor playgrounds.

Conclusions To sum up, our approach focuses on maximising the potential of an existing built resource which is enacted physically through refurbishment and densification. This is executed by a collective organisation formed by the residents. This collective organisation shifts agency and decision making power to the residents increases tenure

1 - Malpass, P. and Murie, A. (1994). Housing policy and practice. 4th ed. Basing- stoke: Macmillan. 2 - ibid. 3 - Dorling, D. (2014) All that is solid: How the Great Housing Disaster De nes Our Times, and What We Can Do About It, London: Allen Lane. 4 - GLA (2017). “London Housing Strategy Impact Assessment: Draft for public consultation”. URL: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/ (Accessed 26/01/2018). 5 - Marcuse, P. (1985) “Gentri cation, Abandonment, and Displacement: Connec- tions, Causes, and Policy 6 - Responses in New York City” Urban Law • Annual, 28 pp.195-240. 7 - Grier, G. and Grier, E. (1978) Urban Displacement: A Reconnaissance.Washington D.C: US Dept. of Housing and • Urban Development. 8 - Atkinson, R. (2000) “Professionalization and Displacement in Greater London” Area, 32 (2) pp. 287-295. 9 - Tonkiss, F. (2017) “Commodity or commons? Knowledge, inequality, and the city” In. T. Haas and H. Westlund (eds) In the Post-urban World. London: Taylor and Francis

Group work: Diego Cuesy Edgar, Irene Frassoldati, Alejandro Fernandez, Anukriti Pathak, Jiani Wang

KEY Addition Common floor area Private floor area Common Room

Existing Apartment Expansion New Apartment

Common Terrace

Private Terrace

Common Room

Collective Workspace and Indoor Playroom

New Duplex Unit

Collective Workspace and Indoor Playroom

Options of different expansions on the grid. (1) additional rooms for the existing apartments and common rooms.

Options of different expansions on the grid. (2) duplex apartments for non-family households with 4 bedrooms with bathroom and common livingroom.

Options of different expansions on the grid. (3) additional apartment and terraces.

# 09

urbanXchangers // Mexico City + Berlin part of “shaping cities in an urban age” by lse cities at la biennale di venezia // community engagement, fieldwork observations, invisible actions //

Research Project // SMAQ and Rozana Montiel Estudio de Arquitectura Can design help to identify and re-build the missing link between people and places? UrbanXchangers is project about the similarities of distant places, the role of local communities and the possibilities of small-scale actions to change people’s perception of their place.

Urbanxchanger is an initiative of the Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft that aims to create a space to reflect on architectural and urban design experiences based on the experiences of community initiatives. To enable this process, urban practitioners from São Paulo, Mexico City, Cape Town and New Delhi were paired with partners from Berlin to collaborate with and take forward community initiatives identified as part of the Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award. Miravalle and Hellesdorf are urban quarters located in the physical and mental periphery of, respectively, Mexico City and Berlin. The project draws together the two areas to understand their similarities and initiate processes of mutual learnings. The sites were developed in the late 80s and can exemplify the processes normally associated with the parts of the world in which they are located. They represent the antithetical categories of North/South, planned/informal and top-down/bottom-up. Miravalle is the informal settlement of the so-called “Global South”. It was spontaneously built by its future inhabitants on the slopes of the Guadalupe Volcano. Hellesdorf, sitting at the polar opposite, materialised the modernist dream of serial, technologically advanced and functional housing provided to every citizen through careful planning. Hellesdorf, at the time of its construction, had been conceived as a privileged expansion of East Berlin under the GDR. The project is articulated in two parts. First, the analysis

Mexico City

Berlin

Miravalle // Mexico City

LOCATION:

Iztapalapa Municipality AREA:

50 ha INHABITANTS:

13300 (in 2015) Self-constructed:

1983-1990 Mexico City, the city that was once a lake, sits in a drainless valley, surrounded by mountain ranges, one of which is Sierra Santa Catarina. Its volcanos play a very important hydrological role: its slopes are permeable, allowing rainwater to infiltrate the deep aquifer. Today, parts of Sierra Santa Catarina have been urbanised. Development in the area means that the rainwater now runs down the streets, instead of being absorbed by the bare soil, causing issues of flooding in parts of Mexico City. On the very edge of the city, on the slopes of the Guadalupe volcano, lies the neighbourhood of Miravalle. In three decades, Miravalle has developed from an informal settlement into a well organised, and politically structured, neighborhood. The Miravalle Community Council aims to provide solutions to these shared problems of urbanity and citizen rights. Yet, despite all of its achievements, the community faces challenges concerning the management and funding of its initiatives, the safety of public spaces, as well as the management of the natural reserve.

Hellesdorf // Berlin

LOCATION:

Hellersdorf District, Berlin AREA:

50 ha Inhabitants:

4600 (in 2011) Built in between

1985 and 1986 At the time when the urbanXchangers program took place, the German media and public discourse were daily occupied by the concerns around the rising number of incoming migrants fleeing war or political persecution, seeking asylum in Europe. In 2015, Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to open the borders of the country. During that year 890.000 asylum application had been filed and assessed. The situation polarised the public opinion and revealed social tensions. While a large majority has been actively supportive, also a xenophobe position rose its voice. Marzan-Hellesdorf is an area of Berlin known for tensions of this nature. Since 2013, when the empty school of Maxie Wander Strasse has been turned into a refugeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; temporary accommodation, the area has been the theatre of right-wing protests and intimidation actions. The situation prevented the newcomers from feeling at home in their new places and had a decisive impact especially on women, who perceived the urban space as dangerous and, therefore, disappeared inside their temporary accommodation.

SEEING THE MI S S I N G L I N K

Floods and Water Scarcity In Miravalle the water seems to be a scarce resource

Water is scarce and needed. Yet, it is present, as rain water,

that has to be bought from far away by trucks, stored in

but as such it is seen as a problem. The natural reserve that

cisterns and used cautiosly. Sometimes it counts for as much

could contribute to rehydrate the landscape and retain water

as 20% of the household budget. Yet, rain water is abundant

locally is fanced off and excluded from the city. It appears

in the rainy season, so abundat that the lower part of the city

that a wider gaze considering the interconnection between

is periodically flood.

problems is needed to approach these challenges.

SEEING THE MI S S I N G L I N K

Social Tensions and Social Enthusiasm Marzan-Hellesdorf is often portrayed as a challenging

their space. The place is unjustly described as abandoned.

place. The Kastanien Boulevard is listed as one of the 20

The volunteer work of different groups proves a deep

most deprived sites in Berlin by the city administration. It

engagement. What can turn these isolated actions into

is a common perception that the area is not safe and the

a system which increases its presence so to shift the

inhabitants tend to avoid it at night. At the same time, in the

perception of the space and change the image of themselves

under-utilised shop spaces, many social initiatives found

that the inhabitants read reflected in the public realm?

A C TIO N D A Y sh i f t i n percep t i o n

Volcano Walk CHANGING POINT OF VIEW // The walk to the top of

capacity are employed. More than a simple recreational

the volcano created a framework for a series of events aimed

outing, the aim of the walk was to identify local resources

at raising awareness around the value of the natural area,

that would help to improve the lives of community members.

the possibilities it offers if managed properly, and its potential

It’s important to realise that because of its location, Miravalle

to absorb and retain water if proper strategies to restore its

sits in a privileged position within Mexico City’s periphery.

“I know it is hard to believe, but we hadn’t realized what we had on our back [doorstep] until the team of urban practitioners came and pointed out the potential of the volcano. Suddenly the volcano appeared to us in all its greatness and as a water provider.” (Jorge, Community Representant and school teacher)

CAMINATA AL VOLCÁN DE GUADALUPE CON LA COMUNIDAD DE MIRAVALLE

SÁBADO 7 DE NOVIEMBRE 7:00 am punto de reunión:

A C TIO N D A Y sh i f t i n percep t i o n

The Longest Table Ever CONNECTING THROUGH SPACES // The

longest pic-nic table in the world. The aim of the project was

association kids & co, operating in the neighborhood since

to foster the inclusion. During an action day the construction

1992, in collaboration with students from the Alice Salomon

of the table took place as a collective moment of celebration,

Hochschule, promoted from September to December a

music and food. The moment represented an injection of life

collective action to built on the Kastanienboulevard the

and joy for this usually underused public space.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Social change starts with a positive shift in perspective.â&#x20AC;? (Rozana Montiel, Architect)

i n v i s i b le i nfras t ruc t ure

Water Dome The cystern, pumping and filtering prototype installed with the Dome make it possibe to use rain water as a local resource. The project aims to reconnect the settlement with

an economic advantage. It is a small, urban acupuncture installation which has a broader impact. Collecting, storing and reusing water on site helps to prevent floods in the lower part of the city. This community

its natural resources, especially focusing on the paradox of

shows that the pathway to retrofit informal settlements

water scarcity in the city despite abundant precipitations. We

and weave them into the city fabric passes through the

built a dome-fountain, a structure that harvests rainwater

commitment of local population. The role of design is to

and turns it into drinkable. The project turns the problem

make visible the great natural resources avalable, not only in

represented by the rain water that often floods the city into

the rain water but in the entire natural reserve.

In v i s i b le i nfras t ruc t ure

Moving Lights How to improve the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s security, social control and

a sense of the life on the street. The walking lights are

livelihood? The long dark hours of the Berlin Winter make

activated by sensors placed above the shops following a

the Kastanienboulevard rather uncomfortable. The design of

regular spacing. Each shop renter will be responsible for the

a new light scheme can help to improve its usability.

lights and sensors placed in its part of facade, even if they

The idea is to scale up the automatic light strategy of

are connected to elements belonging to an other shop. This

LaLoka so that when someone walks along the boulevard at

way, the singular users are encouraged to create a network

night, the person is always in a room of light, following the

to take care of the space and improve its perception.

person and lighting the way. The space will be animated by moving lights, which seen from the windows above provide

Moving Lights // Mapping the Darkness

The perception of the place as not safe and unwelcoming is particularly strong in the newcomers. The episodes of violence and the protests against their presence in the area affected deeply their relationship with the public space and the women are, because of this reason, completely absent from it. The main concern is the darkness of some spots. At night the Kastanien Boulevard is very dark and it feels quite scary. The worst situation is when the shops at the ground floor are empty.rk, in fact the public illumination is by itself insufficient

Moving Lights // Mapping the Shop Spaces

The light intervention aims to modify the physical space without any directly material change. The lights installed change the space of the Kastanien Boulevard when they enter in relation with the people that, walking along the shops front, activate them. They rapresent the vitality of the boulevard. Mapping the use of the shops space is the first step to initiate a dialogue between the micro-publics that would need to create the network that realises and mantains the moving light installation. The movings light installation is an excuse for the social groups and commercial activities to come together and rapresent their collective presence with a physical

# 12

Bella Fuori, Ludopark // Bologna Public space, play, connectivity, inclusion, public consultation //

Public Space Competition // CicloStile Bella Fuori is a competition promoted every year to design new public spaces in peripherical areas. Workshops with the local inhabitants establish the brief. Here the design reflects the wishes expresses by integrating missing activities in concentrated spaces and improving the connectivity to the possibilities overlooked in the surroundings.

One of the main insights that were drawn from the consultation is that the inhabitants expressed desires to introduce new functions that were already within walkable distance. Besides a critique of the consultation itself as cursory, this circumstances revealed that the perception of the area is quite different from the reality. The area is perceived by its inhabitants as remote, detached and lacking intensity. The project aims, with a low budget, on the one hand, to take care of the forgotten in-between spaces, adding functions and through a simple design. On the other hand, it aims to knit together Croce del Biacco and the rest of the city. The design is based on the analysis of the wishes expressed by the inhabitants, the demographic breakdown of the place and its recent changes and the observation of the physical space: functions, morphology and accessibility. The proposal is a LudoPark, a space thought for everybody, which is based on the to connecting stripes of the bike lane and pathway to the city centre. Along those routes, a series of hubs concentrate the different functions introduced.

Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; whishes already present within walking distance. Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; whishes non present in the surroundings.

LudoPark // WHY

THE AREA // near and far away. The site of the competition is in the periphery of the city and two heavy infrastructures, a railway and an highway, divide it from the city centre. As a result the neighbourhood is introverted and not very lively. In particular the people living there feels that the city centre is far away and would not bike or walk there, even though itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only 5 km to the main square. The first goal of the project was to connect the area inside itself and with the bikelane C4 that leads to the inner city.

THE DEMOGRAPHIC // the transformation of the social environment. Data about the population shows an increase of almost 500 familes in the past ten years, with many singleperson nuclei but also a significant number of families

with 6 or more members, and a remarkable growth in the population of foreign origin. It is a picture that corresponds to a environment in rapid transformation and increasingly heterogeneous in terms of the everyday, cultural and social habits.

GOALS // ludopark. The goals of the design were conceived on the base of the consultation with the local inhabitants and the investigation conducted by the design team, which considered physical and social factors. What we wanted to achive with the project was a public space for everybody, but where in particoular children could find a good place to play together. In particoular the project amied to create integration, spcae to play outdoor and increase connectivity.

LudoPark // HOW

1. Integration

2. Independence

3. Connectivity

Because in a district which is

Because in the area there is a lack

Because the area is not as far as it is

rapidly changing and growing very

of space for children to play outdoor

percived to be. Heavy infrasturctures

multicultural integration of children

without their parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; supervision.

such as the railway and the highway

also helps adults to develop social

Children which can play outside are

cut it out from the city, but itis only 5

skills!

more responsable, healty and happy!

km from the main square.

# 10

The super city-colonizing machine // Munich self-built, junk architecture, dwelling machine, temporary installation //

Shabby Shabby Apartment // Giulia Domeniconi, Irene Frassoldati, Mirko Gatti, Riccardo Torresi Parking Loft is our battlewagon; a super machine to colonize the neoliberal city. Parking Loft is a retrogressive machine. It belongs to a new generation that reject standardization, alienation and automation. Parking Loft is low-tech and low-cost: it’s made of junk!

Parking Loft is one of 22 dwelling prototypes realized in September 2015 as part of the Shabby Shabby Apartments project; an open competition conceived by architecture collective Raumlabor in collaboration with the Münchener Kammerspiele. It consisted of two glorious and strenuous weeks, when 22 collectives of architects and D.I.Y. enthusiasts from across Europe gathered in Munich to build one apartment each, having at disposal a drastically low budget of only 250 euros. In Munich, a city which regularly appears at the top end of international rankings for its superior quality of life – as well as for its superior cost of living - rent can take up to 50% of one’s income. Small businesses struggle to survive and diversity is ruled out by a housing market which drains our cities from everything that we love about them. How can we remain genuinely lazy, creative and political in a city where access to land and housing is increasingly becoming a mere commodity? How can we save our cities form a doom of class homogeneity? We have to re-invent our idea of affordable housing to preserve our delicate urban ecosystems. We must employ genius loci and collective creativity in order to experiment new ways of living and sharing the city! Parking Loft is our battlewagon; a super machine to colonize the neoliberal city. It reclaim the ground by occupying a parking space (The footprint of one car), to transform it into a dwelling for two humans. This temporary and fluid occupation makes use of the public space, not to generate income, but

to establish alternative living possibility that are virtually

plastic envelop folds in and out to provide shelter; multiple

accessible to everyone.

openings guarantee different degrees of interaction with

Parking Loft is a retrogressive machine. It belongs to

the street; a periscope on the roof, reflects the light from the

a new generation of machines that reject standardization,

adjacent lamp post inside the apartment. Parking loft is a

alienation and automation. It is a non-modern machine.

dwelling for two, but it is also two interdependent dwellings.

Behaving like a parasite, it can adapt to the context and

It is domestic yet nomadic. It does not conform to any

benefit from the circumstances. It can move on wheels, but

particular family structure or gender role.

it can also set roots and expand into the surrounding area to start a mutually symbiotic relationship with the street. Made up with two interdependent core modules,

Parking Loft is low-tech and low-cost: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s made of junk! One Parking Loft is never like the other. Its components are sourced in the specific habitat where it

which provide the minimum living space for the two

settles and may vary according to materials available on

inhabitants, Parking Loft can split and open up in many

site. Its configuration is determined by the need and the

different ways: a super-wall armed with sharp spurs,

temporary use that one makes of it. Parking Loft machine

becomes a terrace or a common floor between the two; a

supports diversity, not homogeneity.

# 11

Carpe Diem // Bologna 1st Prize application // public space, freedom, partecipation, immaterial city //

Di Nuovo in Centro (Back to the Centre), Ideas Competition // Irene Frassoldati, Roberto Morotti, Martina Siciliano. From an over regulated public space that disencourage appropriation to a new tool that triggers partecipation, enthusiasm and communitates the vitality that the city has.

From Context // In 2012, the administration of Bologna decided to close to every form of motorized transport the two main streets of the city, which cross in the main square of the historical centre. Car access has always been restricted to the medieval centre, yet, with this new regulation, not even the busses of public transport were allowed in the area. Suddenly, the streets become an accessible place. An invasion of young people, mothers and children, dogs and humans, street artists and street vendors occurred. The city centre of Bologna, within the circle of the ancient walls, is surprisingly vast and it is not considered as walking distance. For this reason, a strong opposition raised. The owners of commercial activities, worried about their profits, were especially vocal in pretending back motorised traffic. In this context, a collective reflection and discussion about the meaning of the public space started. Bologna is a city well known since the 70s for its studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; protests and for the engagement of its citizens in political and social issues. At the time, the public space and especially the squares were at the centre of the collective life and the theatre of occupations. Unfortunately, the same political enthusiasm does no longer inhabit the public space. Recent administrations promoted a strategy of repressive regulation. Aiming for bourgeois decency, they only managed to marginalise the function of the public space as a space of social encounter, discussion and commonality. Many remained astonished for the prohibition to sit on the ground in the public squares in 2012, especially considering the role of these spaces for a city

with the university campus scattered around the city centre. Turned more and more into an open-air shopping mall, where buying seems to be the only allowed behaviour, the inhabitants seemed to be less and less in love with their city. The Urban Centre promoted in this context an ideas competition in order to encourage a re-appropriation of the city centre by its inhabitants. To Concept //The competition entry was a statement and a provocation. In the city, laws, regulations, codes of usage and shared feelings define the possibilities of inhabitation of the public space. In the consolidated area of the historical centre, there is no need to invest in a physical transformation. The uniform quality of the architecture, the small streets and the sequence of squares are unquestionably charming and well maintained. If there is a problem in the use of the space it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come from its material qualities. The engagement of the inhabitants in the production of the city life is a much more relevant aspect. In our opinion, the administration could encourage freedom with responsibility and show appreciation for public activities. In order to understand how to improve the quality of the city centre, it can be useful to think about the public space not only as outdoor areas but also as micro-publics, and not only in

Monday 13th October, h 5pm

Friday 17th October, h 10am

terms of its physicalities but also as the set of activities carried out in it. For this reason, our proposal does not focus on a built intervention. It is, instead, an application for mobile devices that aims to create a virtual infrastructure. Its function is, on the one hand, to build an image of what is happening in the city and, on the other hand, to give a tool to individual, associations and the administration to share their initiatives. The hope behind it is that people would feel more welcomed in acting, participating and appropriating the city, through initiatives of every kind and type. The application categorises but does not exclude. A street artist and the art museum would get, through the modes of finding things, an equal chance to be visible and reached. Carpe Diem sustains enthusiasm, optimism and inclusion against a city of homogenised behaviours.

Affinity

Map

This kind of view can be defined â&#x20AC;&#x153;gravitationalâ&#x20AC;?, because it is based both on the position and the interests expressed by the user. In fact, more an activity matches the category of interest of the users and nearer to the user it takes place and more close to the viewfinder representing the user (in the center of the screen) the symbol will be displayed.

This screen opens onto a conceptual representation of the city and an overview of the latter, as shown in the third table. By zooming on the part of interest, you enter the traditional map and you can browse and discover what is happening around you.

Calendar This is the most practical view, it makes possible to have a list of all the activities day to day, showing also time and place. This is the only one that joins the symbol that encodes the activity with its name and type, making the consultation particularly fast, but traditional.

# 13

Anarchic Churches // Naples, Italy From insurgent actions to an urban strategy // homelessness&heritage, social movements //

Essay // MSc City Design and Social Sciences. In Naples, a city with an outstanding and undervalued cultural and artistic heritage, there are more than 500 churches. 200 of them are abandoned and remain empty holes in the urban fabric. The basic maintenance of this underutilised heritage is an already lost challenge, which opens up spaces for improvisation, illegal appropriation or depressive disrepair. In Naples, a growing homeless population is dwelling in the vicoli, visible and unseen by the Neapolitans, forgotten by public administration. In Naples, a social and political movement has decided to fight against an inefficient reality. Through civic disobedience, Potere al Popolo explores unobvious solutions to solidified problems. The paper explores in the context the possibilities to scale up insurgent actions and translate them into an urban strategy.

as a new political practice and if there wasn’t a great scope Since 2012 the church of Sant’Antonio had been

to actually learn from the experience and transform it into

sitting silent and bored in Piazzetta Tarsia, at the heart of

an urban strategy. Naples is well known as the city of the

Naples. Deserted, as an empty shell left on the shore of

five-hundred domes, yet not as well known is the fact that

the Neapolitan Gulf, it retained only the echo of the past

almost two-hundreds of them lay empty or misused. Hence,

rumbles and feasts. In the last eight years, the only activities

what are the possibilities of turning a forgotten asset into a

that were carried out within its walls had been vandalisms

system of social anchors open for inhabitation by an already

and thefts that spoilt the building of his marbles and holy

existing solidarity network? Why is the Neapolitan context

objects, damaging the historical structure. When, on the 2nd

already pointing toward this possibility and what strategies

of February 2018, a group of activists from Potere al Popolo

could help removing the obstacles on the way?

broke into the building with the purpose of squatting it they

The dense urban fabric, constantly pictured in its

didn’t expect to find such a desolate situation, nor such a

livelihood, in the picturesque tangle of vicoli and in the buzz

great potential.

of a larger than life street activity, is also traversed by silence.

“Not only this building has an artistic and historic

This is a silence that reverberates from the negated naves to

value, it also holds the possibility to do something that has

the surroundings. In Naples this silence speaks more about

a social impact for the city” Matteo Giardiello, an activist

the stiffness and lack of coordination of the institutions than

of Potere al Popolo (2018). The collective took over the

of a state of abandon and disaffection. The city is proud of

building in a pragmatic response to the wave of cold that

its cultural and artistic heritage and has invested in tourism

was hitting hardly on the homeless population, which counts

in the last years as the most successful economic strategy.

almost one thousand people. Thus the church has been

(Gentiloni, 4th December 2017).

turned into a shelter and a dining room to support the needs

The CEI and Curia di Napoli (Church national and

of the most marginal part of the population. The collective

local organs) in collaboration with the Soprintendenza

of Potere al Popolo is not only a local activist group. They

(Department of heritage protection) classified the churches

initiated a national movement connecting across Italy social

of the territory. Within the greek-roman boundaries of the

centres in order to transform their civic enthusiasm into a

UNESCO site 203 churches have been counted. Out of

political organisation and they participated in the national

these 79 are still being used for catholic cult, 49 have been

political elections of the 4th of March 2018. (fig.1)

repurposed for a different, sometimes controversial uses,

The fact would only be a parenthesis in the local news if the group wasn’t proposing this insurgent practice

and 75 are abandoned or under restoration (Ministro dei Beni Culturali, 2011).

fig. 3. Map of the empty churches of the Centro Storico. The map does not include building under restoration and refers to the list prepared by the Soprintendenza in 2011.

The Neapolitan empty churches periodically attract

of the meanings of its materiality. The churches, like shells

the attention of the media and their impossible destiny is

scattered amidst the other sand grains, are now part of

discussed in the public debate in a crescendo of hope,

the continuous flow and entanglement of contradictions

irony and disdain. These abandoned buildings not always

that Benjamin called porosity. This phenomenon can

remain the empty shell of a lost life. A number of churches

be connected with the way in which the churches are

have been repurposed according to the characteristics of

embroidered in the urban fabric, as observers by Benjamin.

the typology, they became museums (Church of Monte di

There is no distance between the church and the buildings,

pieta), multipurpose-event spaces (San Severo al Pendino),

another outcome of density. Once the spiritual connection is

lecture rooms for the university (Church of Santissimi

removed, the churches would assume the same immanence

Demetrio e Bonifiacio), or they now host different religions

and ever changing status of their surroundings, becoming

(Church of Sant’Agnello ai Grassi). Other churches,

again a row material ready for new meanings (Ingold, 2007).

through a miraculous or grotesque transformation, came

The conservation of the churches in the context of

instead to host unexpected functions, giving life to bizarre

decreasing religious practices and sacerdotal vocations

assemblages. One bright example is, for instance, the

needs to be understood as a plural theme (Bartolomei,

Church-Gym, Santa Maria a Cappella Vecchia, that, in

2016), in contrast to the orientation of the discipline of

a materialist turn, passed from healing souls to the cult

conservation, that examines each building individually. The

of the body (fig.2.g). There is then the Church-Pizzeria,

potential of a plural approach is in the fact that it recognised

San Salvatore, that found a new vocation within the local

a system, a possible new infrastructure. The churches were

traditions.

in fact embedded in the city to serve its population locally

Sometimes an equally invasive attitude toward the historic constructions came without making any use of the space. The unauthorised balcony constructed, as an

and they carry an identity legacy for the community that they used to host (Bartolomei, 2016). After the Second Vatican Council and the political

extension of the one existing on the neighbour house, on

decapitation of the Christian party, DC, during Tangentopoli,

the façade of Sant’Arcangelo a Boiano, is perhaps the most

the Church in Italy retreated from political arena and focused

astonishing example (fig.2.d). There is then the suspended

on its social mission. It has successfully played a role in

status of the churches under restauration. Some of these,

supporting territories that any other institution had been

like chronic patients of a psychosomatic disease, have been

able to reach. (Garelli, 2014) The possibility to re-open the

under treatment for years. Sant’Agostino alla Zecca has

churches for social purposes therefore aims to continue

been under un-constant therapy for thirty years, yet it has

the tradition of these places as reference points for local

not fully recovered (fig.2.e). Some churches have simply

residents.

been closed and ignored. The consequence is always steady

The topic acquires its full relevance especially in the

physical deterioration, up to the point when it threatens

context of the centro storico. Here the heritage is more

the stability of the building. Despite the many streams of

concentrated (fig.3). This is the part of the city that features

founding available from the EU and the UNESCO, many

the highest density and it hosts a large percentage of

churches are simply falling apart (gif.2.f).

population coming from the lower income fraction (Istat,

Bemjamin and Lacis (1924) described the churches

2011). The area is characterised by scarce public space and

on Naples as the standing pillars of sanity in the city of

fewer communal facilities. The ancient part, moreover, is at

negotiated chaos, well known since middle age in popular

the intersection of conflicting claims regarding what is the

culture as the “paradise inhabited by devils” (Croce, 2006).

possible future imagined for the city (Dines, 2018).

During the process of secularization the sacrum halo of what shall not be touch went lost in a deep re-managing

1. In the original sentence, un paradiso abitato da diavoli, the word diavoli, devils, means evil people, but also poor, limited people. It recalls another popular phrase povero diavolo which has a component of compassion.

On the one hand, there is an idea of regeneration based on the creation of a new city brand. After the reform

fig. 1. The occupation of the Church of Santâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Antonio a Tarsia. Above, the condition of the church at the moment of the squatting. Below, the use of the space as shelter and dining room.

of 1993 that brought the direct election of the mayor, they

are inscribed within a wider political strategy that aims to

became public figures with the need to catalyse consensus.

achieve a different approach to equity. “In this city there are

Their administrations have been differently oriented toward

1000 homeless and 200 empty churches. If we manage

increasing legitimacy through a wide rhetoric of citizens’

to have an impact, without founding and without support, it

participation. Their agenda, though, never managed

means that the institutions need to take actions, because

to invert the downward spiralling economic and social

they have the capacity to do so” Said Viola Carofano (Potere

situation. (Ragone, 2009). On the other hand, there was

al Popolo, 2018) Their use of disorder challenges of what is

the emergence of a new political orientation, born from the

legal. It needs therefore to be intended as a pre- figurative

grassroots experience of the social centre that argues for

politics (Borchi, 2018), which aims to scale up and spread

the necessity to start from concrete actions to trigger a

out.

social change (Potere al Popolo, 2018). In Naples, more than in other cities, it seems that

The local political context demonstrated a great openness toward self- initiated actions. The Mayor Luigi

the physical presence rather than the law is key player

de Magistris established the Assessorato ai Beni Comuni

to counter realities of disengagement, crime and illegal

(Department of Common Goods) to protect and manage

appropriation of territories and goods. Sadly famous are the

the city’s commons. In 2014, the Mayor created a procedure

unauthorised developments that have been the conniving

to allocate and support the re-activation of unused building

business as usual practice of city-making (Ragone, 2009).

for public purposes (Commune di Napoli, 2011-13-14),

Looking closer at what happens within the porosity over-

learning from the experience of the occupation of the ex-

romanticised by Benjamin, one can start to recognise the

Asilo Filangeri. At the moment, seven buildings in the city

silent agreements hidden in the seemingly thoughtless and

are managed as commons, proving, despite all oddities, that

airy attitude of the popolino . Hence the despair of a part of

social centres are able to provide social, cultural and political

the city. Aldo Masullo defines Naples rather lumpy (Masullo,

activities (Borchi,2018).

2008) than porous, trying with such expression to capture

The Church, on its part, also showed a progressive

the frustration of working through an inform and granular

approach. In 2011, Cardinal Sepe opened a call to ‘adopt a

matter, which coagulates in sinister geometries of power

church’ (Chiesa di Napoli, 2011). Despite the many requests

imbalance.

only a few buildings were actually allocated. The reason

In Naples, rules around the use of the space, are

lies in the fact that the call main goal was to guarantee the

constantly challenged, ignored or deliberately broken.

maintenance and refurbishment of the structure. Hence,

Richard Sennet, in The use of Disorder (1970), offers a

one requisite to apply was having a budget to invest in up-

positive reading of disorder, in contrast with the passive

grading the structure. Many wish for a greater commitment

attitude of modernist determinism. Thus the city as an

of the Church to actually open ready-to-use spaces,

anarchic system acknowledges the active agency of

considering the cost that it represents for the state (Tulli,

autonomous groups. The characteristics required for this

2018).

city are density and multiplicity of contacts points, features

The openness of the institutions reflects how

that resonate in the Neapolitan porosity. In this way the city

ineffective they have been in providing very needed

becomes “a system of social dis- organization” (Sennet,

services. With politics of austerity and the roll back of

1970, p.174) which un-makes the constituted order.

the state, a new form of bottom-up welfare is emerging.

The insurgent movements of today moved

Institutions consequently leverage on them to compensate

beyond their auto-determination as antagonist identities

their own shortcomings. In 2011, the European Union

and overcame the incapacity to produce after-rupture

approved the ‘Chart for a Europe of Shared Social

alternatives. (Dines, 2000). The actions of Potere al Popolo

Responsibilities’. The document proposed a capability

2. Popolino means small, limited people, refering to the assumption that they are not especially smart. Disorder can counter the crystallisation of forms of power that reproduce inequality.

fig. 2. 2.a. Santa Maria a Mare, Church-Garage; 2.8. Santa Maria Monserrato, Church-Garage 2.c. Santa Maria Colonna, under restoration as part of the UNESCO site-project, 2.d. Sant’Arcangelo a Boiano, 2.e. Chiesa di Sant’Agostino alla Zecca, ChurchClotheshorse, theoretically undergoing restoration, 2.f. Church of Santa Maria a Piazza, sustained by the neighbour church of Sant’Agrippino, Church-Solidariety 2.g. Santa Maria a Cappella Vecchia, Church-Gym, 2.h. Chiesa della Scorziata

approach works in a collective sense. It wants to enable

refurbishment of churches would allow to apply to a wider

citizens’ active participation in providing for the community,

array of founding from the local region to the EU, to the

also emphasising on the management of the commons

UNESCO funding for restoration. For instance are available

(Dell’Avanzato, 2012).

the POR Campania, program for the regional development,

The actions proposed by Potere al Popolo inserts

or the UIA, Urban Innovative Action, European program

themselves in this space potentially opened by the

to experiment alternative solutions for urban problems

institutions. Yet they do not remain confined in the invited

(Comune di Napoli, 2017). The convergence of autonomous

spaces of participation (Miraftab, 2009). Their pre-figurative

groups, international funding and the will of the Church

politics provoke the institutions showing that there is always

allows the creation of co- benefits between the preservation

an alternative. Entering directly the political arena they

of the artistic heritage and the formulation of spaces of

state that a bottom-up welfare is insufficient and a more

social practices.

systematic action is needed. Therefore, they ultimately aim to change the framework within which they are working. The possible uses of the commons, especially as a

The challenge in up-cycling the religious heritage lays in the thick regulation. The law conditions the interventions along three axis. First, it is necessary to respect all the

plural system of social spaces, are difficult to detail. The

safety and security norms, which results practically complex.

problem does not only rest on the multiplicity and specificity

Second, all the interventions need to be evaluated as

of the urban surroundings and architectural morphologies.

compatible with the historical and artistic character of the

A crucial point is that the commons themselves refuse a

building. This might become a departing point from the

singular purpose. They flow in intertwining identities with

current practice that usually prefers cultural purposes, such

their inhabitants. Also the commons are made of porous

as libraries and museums. Third, the new use needs to

material. Ugo Mattei (2011), jurist involved in the ex-Asilo

be aligned with the land use regulation of the city. (Marini

Filangeri, writes that “It would be reductive to say that we

RoversiMonaco, 2017)

have a common good: we should rather see to what extent

The complex overlay of laws in place to protect the

we are the commons, in as much as we are part of an urban

Heritage can be read as one of the main obstacles for their

ecosystem. Here, the subject is part of the object.” (Mattei,

preservation. The regulatory system appears as thouroghly

2011). For this mutuality I do not aim to invent specific

non-porous. Beside considering the scarce advantages of

social uses, though I demonstrate the potential for such

such a strict system I will now enumerate a few possibilities

social and cultural uses and the will of autonomous group to

to work within the constraints. First, declaring the

pursue them.

intervention temporary allows to waive some of the technical

Lastly, comes an analysis first of the frameworks

norms for construction and makes it easier to change the

to further this experience and to implement a wider

use. In this way the action can be first established and later

urban strategy and then of the constraints with the

prolonged. The second shortcut is in the reversibility of the

relative strategies to overcome them. The possibilities for

intervention. Using structures that can be disassembled and

implementation can be seen within the same streams of

that don’t interfere with the historical walls facilitates the

founding operating for the program Waking up the Sleeping

approval of the Soprintendenza. Lastly, by presenting a social

Giants (Comune di Napoli, 2017). Unlike this program,

re-use as a valorisation of the cultural heritage it is possible

which was criticised for concentrating resources, an urban

to avoid the long process to approve the change of use

strategy of reactivation of the empty churches would allow,

when not coherent with the Land Use plan.

first of all, to rely on existing smaller communities, which

The text moves from the description of the physical

proved effective in the managementof commons. Second, it

situation of the empty churches to place them in the

is an incremental strategy that proceeds church by church

specificity of the context of Naples. In this way it tries to

and minimises the risk of failure. Third, it spreads spatially

trace lines of convergence between different positions

the resources, so that they could be more accessible by the

belonging to the different souls of the city. The intersection

population, especially considering children and elderly. The

of these narratives constitutes the potential to upscale

the occupation of Sant’Antonio to a urban strategies

grotesque situation of the closed churches it is possible

that anchors in closed churches an existing network of

to see that the city is made of a malleable material. The

grassroots social commitment. The real limitations of this

openness of the institutions, the stubborn work of grassroots

strategies are inscribed in the limits of citizens participation,

movements and the presence of un-used resources can

therefore it aims more to assess possibilities and resources

construct a collaboration. “I am a believer, besides being a

than to define precise outcomes. Through the text flows the

communist,” said Mario, pensioner and activist of Potere al

idea of porous city suggested by Benjamin and Lacis almost

Popolo (2018). Today porosity is a condition to work with, it

one century ago. Declined in this time over and over again,

represents the hybrid identities that can respond to specific

this concept demonstrated its flexibility to assume different

conditions, adapt and evolve the meaning of the space and

meanings of liveliness, informality, permeability or illegality.

of common goods.

Certainly, it grasped something of the inner and timeless essence of the city. Benjamin, that portrays the city with the light touch of the flâneur, fails to include its exhausting limitation, its lumpiness, but also its de-stabilising potential when intended as a purposeful disorder. The fascination of confronting the city of today with this long-lasting concept is that it brings Naples face to face with its stereotype. The good news is that looking at the peculiar and sometimes Bartolomei, L. (2016). “Le chiese abbandonate d’Italia. Cause, significato, prospettive di gestione” in Il future degli edifice di culto, Ricerche e Progetti per il Territorio, (10), 6-26; Benjamin, Walter and Asja Lacis. 1986 [1924]. “Naples.” Pp 163-173 in Reflections: essays, aphorisms, autobiographical writing, Edmund Jephcott, trans. New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Borchi, A. (2018). “Culture as commons: theoretical challenges and empirical evidence from occupied cultural spaces in Italy”. Cultural Trends, 27(1), 33-45. Croce, B. (2006). “Un paradiso abitato da diavoli”, Milano, Adelphi; Dell’Avanzato, S. (2012). “Il welfare «dal basso verso l’alto»: la Carta di responsabilità sociale europea”. Quaderni di Sociologia, (59), 149-165. Dines, N. (2000). “What are «Social Centres?» A Study of Self-managed occupation in Na- ples During the 1990s”. Trangressions. A Journal of Urban Explorationi, 5, 23-39. Dines, N. (2018). An irreconcilable first-place: The precarious life of tourism and heritage in a southern European historic centre. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 24(2), 142-153. Garelli, F. (2014). “Religione e politica in Italia: i nuovi sviluppi”. Quaderni di Sociologia, (66), 9-26. Ingold, T. (2007) “Materials against materiality” in Archeological dialogues, 14(1), 1-16; Marini, S. and Roversi Monaco, M. (2017). “Le chiese chiuse di Venezia. Mappatura, progetti e criteri di riuso” in Il future degli edifice di culto, Ricerche e Progetti per il Territorio, (11), 358-369; Masullo A., Scamardella C. (2008). “Napoli siccome immobile” (Aldo Masullo intervistato da Claudio Scamardella), Napoli, Alfredo Guida Editore. Mattei, U. (2011). “The State, the Market, and some Preliminary Question about the Com- mons” (No. 1-11). International University College of Turin. [online] Available at: https:// econpapers.repec.org/paper/iucrpaper/1-11.htm [Accessed 20th March 2018] Miraftab, F. (2009). “Insurgent planning: Situating radical planning in the global south”. Plan- ning Theory, 8(1), 32-50. Ragone, G. (2009). “Un fallimento mascherato. L’esperienza politico-amministrativa a Napoli e in Campania dal 1993 al 2009”. Quaderni di Sociologia, (50), 5-22. Sennett, R. (1970) “The uses of disorder: Personal identity and city life.” New York: Affred and Knopf, inc. Tulli, F. (2018) “Cara Chiesa, quanto ci costi” in Esprorio Vaticano, Left, (2), 14-16; Chiesa di Napoli. (2011). Bando per l’assegnazione in comodato d’uso delle Chiese chiuse [online] Available at: http://www.chiesadinapoli.it/pls/napoli/V3_S2EW_ CONSULTAZI- ONE.mostra_pagina?id_pagina=23315&rifi=guest&rifp=guest [Accessed 20th March 2018] Comune di Napoli. (2011). Delibere del Consiglio Comunale per la gestione dei beni comuni, Delibera di Giunta n. 740 del 16/06/2011. [online] Available at: http:// www.comune. napoli.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/16783 [Accessed 20th March 2018] Comune di Napoli. (2013). Delibere del Consiglio Comunale per la gestione dei beni comuni. Delibera di Giunta n. 521 dell’11/07/2013. [online] Available at: http:// www.comune. napoli.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/16783 [Accessed 20th March 2018] Comune di Napoli. (2013). Delibere del Consiglio Comunale per la gestione dei beni

comuni. Delibera di Giunta n. 258 del 24/04/2014. [online] Available at: http:// www.comune. napoli.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/16783 [Accessed 20th March 2018] Comune di Napoli. (2016) 2nd Chance –Waking up the “sleeping giants”. Activation of va- cant buildings and building complexes for a sustainable urban development. Baseline Study. State-of-the-Art – Starting position . [online] Available at: http:// www.comune.napoli.it/flex/ cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/31079 [Accessed 20th March 2018] Comune di Napoli. (2017). Allegato 2. Complesso SS. Trinita delle Monache (exOspedale Militare. [online] Available at: http://www.comune.napoli.it/flex/ cm/pages/ServeBLOB. php/L/IT/IDPagina/31079 [Accessed 20th March 2018] Gentiloni, P. (2018) “Avere vent’anni al sud: le ragioni per tornare, le ragioni per restare” organised by Il Mattino, 4th of December 2017, Naples. [online - video] Available at: https:// www.ilmattino.it/innovazione/news/forum_mattino_gentiloni_11_ dicembre-3407539.html [Accessed 20th March 2018] Istat. (2011). Censimento della popolazione. [online] Available at: http://dati-censimentopopolazione.istat.it/Index.aspx?lang=it [Accessed 20th March 2018] Ministero dei Beni Culturali. (2011) Chiese nel perimetro storico greco-romano. [online] Available at: http://www.chiesadinapoli.it/napoli/allegati/23317/Chiese_Centro_ Storico. pdf [Accessed 20th March 2018] Potere al Popolo. (2018). The program of Potere al Popolo. [online] Available at: https:// poterealpopolo.org/potere-al-popolo/programma/ [Accessed 20th March 2018] Potere al Popolo. (2018). Occupazione di Sant’Antonio a Tarsia. [online - video] Available at: https://poterealpopolo.org/repubblica-a-napoli-nella-chiesa-occupatadi-potere-al-popolo/ [Accessed 20th March 2018] Figures fig.1. The occupation of the Church of Sant’Antonio a Tarsia. Source [online] www. poterealpopolo.org. [Accessed 20th March 2018]. fig. 2. 2.a. Santa Maria a Mare, Church-Garage. Source [online] google streetview capture [Accessed 20th March 2018]. 2.8. Santa Maria Monserrato, Church-Garage. Source [online] google streetview capture. [Accessed 20th March 2018]. 2.c. Santa Maria Colonna, under restoration. [online] https://twitter.com/defeorestauri/ status/901717679073058816. [Accessed 20th March 2018]. 2.d. Sant’Arcangelo a Boiano. Source [online] http://www.napoligrafia.it/monumenti/ chiese/monumentali/arcangelo/arcangelo01.htm. [Accessed 20th March 2018]. 2.e. Chiesa di Sant’Agostino alla Zecca, Church-Clotheshorse. Source [online] https://www. huffingtonpost.it/2013/08/28/napoli-chiese-chiuse-abbandonatereportage_n_3827967. html#gallery/512751/33 [Accessed 20th March 2018]. 2.f. Church of Santa Maria a Piazza. Source [online] google streetview capture. [Accessed 20th March 2018]. 2.g. Santa Maria a Cappella Vecchia, Church-Gym. Source [online] http://www. napolimilionaria.it/2016/06/09/santa-maria-a-cappella-vecchia-palestra/. [Accessed 20th March 2018]. 2.h. Chiesa della Scorziata. Source [online] http://napoli.repubblica.it/ cronaca/2012/08/11/foto/il_degrado_del_centro_storico-40748643/5/ [Accessed 20th March 2018]. fig. 3. Map of the Empty churches of the Centro Storico, within the greek-roman perimeter. Source: Author’s image.

# 14

Terra del Sole // Transition town transition, social movement, climate change,, small town //

Dissertation // BA + MSc Architecture and Building Engeneering, University of Bologna The dissertation researches the potential of small centres in leading ecological revolutions. Many areas of Italy are experiencing population loss and are peripherical to centres of economic activity. How is the marginality to the attention of capital interest an advantage for those willing to change? Can an ecological utopia catalyse social capital creation and animate places that have little expectations about their future?

The starting point of this thesis is the consciousness of ecological and environmental problems that our planet is preparing to face due to the lifestyle western countries chose in the past fifty years causing climate change, biodiversity loss and resources depletion. My research aims to give an answer to a disturbing question: if the theories are now accepted and the solutions have been investigated and studied for years, why so little has been done to change the situation? The relationship between settlements and territory has faded until it disappears. Settlements now depend on the global market and its continuous flux of goods, energy and money. This thesis explore ways to take the opposite stance. It imagines how it could be possible to come back to places to construct local resilience. The strategy studied to achieve this result is to bound ecological problem with social issue, first, because only a shared vision of transformation, a new utopia, can catalyze this big change, and, second, because ecological awareness can actually strengthen the urban identity and the feeling of ownership feeling necessari to trigger action.

The territory, as per its contemporary features, does

but also waste, with the far away. The exchange does not

not have a measurable dimension which directly depends

cover all the dimensions of this relationship between distant

on geographical boundaries. It can be articulated beyond

points, also the environmental consequences of human

a concept of land as a continuous surface and is rather

actions are shared.

referring to the nebula that one can be helped to think about it. It includes places that remain associated through a relationship of exchange of goods, products and resources,