Grato-Sewn

GRATO-SEWN sewing relationships in Gratosoglio

Anna Evangelisti, Karl Mansour, Olivier Bichel, Johnny Rizk, Cloe Mestre-Caron

In light of the “Housing and Neighbourhood” studio, our research project focusses on the concept of the social concierge and common spaces in order to revitalise the social interactions in the neighbourhood of Gratosoglio that has lost its ways.

Our concept turns around three dimensions. The first is the Vertical Dimension, in which we focus more on the idea of the social concierge that works in one specific building and strengthens the relations and interactions of the inhabitants. In a second stage, the Vertical & Horizontal Dimension focusses on the potential common places in-between buildings and could enhance social interactions and activities.

Finally, our last strategy lies in the Horizontal dimension that touches the whole neighbourhood and in which we try to find adaptive uses to bring the ground-floor back to life and give the inhabitants of Gratosoglio activities and services that actually meet their needs.

A very important element of our project is to underline that our actions are not targeted to a specific social class, income level or ethnic group. The problem of relations can be projected to any neighbourhood, no matter the social standing. This is also why, although we are aware that this project as a whole is a very ambitious undertaking, it can be seen as a model that could be reproduced in any other neighbourhood.

“create (and enhance) a network of relationships based on people daily spaces”

FRAMEWORK FOR A PROJECT Milan

When people think about Milan everyone immediately has their stereotypes in mind. We think of the Duomo, the fashion districts, expositions, busy people and the ever-innovating quality of a metropole. Especially Milan is a very compact city, where all the major activities happen very close to each other, so that one can easily forget about what is happening on the borders of the city.

Gratosoglio

The neighbourhood of Gratosoglio lies in the very Southern tip of Milan, surrounded by agricultural fields that belong to the Parco Agricolo Sud. “It is the place where you can pick up fresh milk from your farmer using the metro” to quote the President of the Municipio 5, only to underline that it is a place that rather contrasts the normal expectations one has of a city neighbourhood. Far more than that, Gratosoglio is a very complex neighbourhood.

Marked not only by its high towers, Gratosoglio is also known for its complicated social-ethnical composition. The presence of a lot of social housing estates indulges evidently a high number of lowincome households. With the refugee crisis from the last years and the creation of the dorm in the South of Gratosoglio, the situation has only intensified.

some lacks in the neighborhood

today

tomorrow

Today the most obvious factor that stands out is the lack of engagement and social interaction that impacts on several aspects of the neighbourhood. The first and very evident problem is the lack or the invisibility of activities on the ground floors in the neighbourhood.

Most ground-floor spaces are either closed or poorly displayed, which produces a negative effect on the liveability of the neighbourhood.

This reflects on the very low engagement of the inhabitants that seem to rather live a private life.

It is now our challenge to find ways to pick up social interactions in the neighbourhood, not only to improve the general life quality from an urban point of view (changing the streets, the public spaces..) but also, mainly, to give new kinds of opportunities to the Gratosoglio’s inhabitants, creating interactions and occasions to exit from their own house.

There are a lot of immigrants, but I don’t see them as a problem. We live well together although something should be done with the situation with the non-existing community and impersonal places.

Chiara (23) scout in Gratosoglio

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I live here with my family. I have a little child and honestly, I’m scared to let him go down to play. There are many people lingering around and I don’t get a good vibe from them.

Mohammad (35) with Karim (4) egyptians slabs’ inhabitants

I want some more activities, I just see empty spaces and there are no possibilities to actually do stuff.

Yeah the kids have some playgrounds and football pitches but there is a lot more that could be done.

Davide (29) towers’ inhabitant

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THREE IDEAS FOR OUR PROJECT

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idea

After the first impressions and analysis of the area, we were able to shape a clear idea on the actual problems of Gratosoglio such as the verticality and the low social interactions.

Because these problems are quite complex and are deeply rooted into the characteristics of the neighbourhood, the risk to come up with a very superficial solution was high and wouldn’t have solved anything. Consequently we came up with a project that is threefold: 1) vertical dimension 2) vertical-horizontal dimension 3) horizontal dimension, that are all part of one overlapping concept within which each dimension would tackle specific problematics. In this way, we are able to cover all the ongoing issues and setting up a strong strategy that will bring about positive outcomes in the long run.

VERTICAL DIMENSION dwelling-building where the single dwelling meets the building, thanks to the relationship between inhabitants and their concierge

2 idea

VERTICAL + HORIZONTAL DIMENSION building-neighborhood where the single dwelling meets the building, thanks to the relationship between inhabitants and their concierge

3 idea

HORIZONTAL DIMENSION neighborhood-city where the building goes down the streets to meet the neighborhood’s space, the ground floors’ space

vertical dimension RELOADING THE CONCIERGE

concierge

where we can find the concierge?

Social interactions are fundamental to a well-functioning neighbourhood. In our first dimension we try precisely to engage on that topic by introducing the social concierge into the neighbourhood of Gratosoglio. By studying the area and visiting it on multiple occasions we’ve come to realise that the vertical aspect of the neighbourhood is implemented in its very roots: Therefore, removing it would disrupt the natural components of Gratosoglio and its inhabitants. It is all the more important that we not only hang on the verticality but find a way of improving it and incorporating it into our project. The challenge was to find an effective tool in regard to the vertical spine. As the problem lies deeper than only physical issues, our attention turned quickly to the idea of the social concierge, a person that can work in both physical and social ways.

In our approach the concierge would benefit from a flat that could be located anywhere in the building from which s/he could run their operations. As shown in the illustrations, this apartment would be highlighted through visual aids, like a painted door, a waiting couch and a reclamation mailbox. In this scenario, the concierge in his/her pure description goes beyond the usual expectations. Although s/he will have the same functions as the regular one, like collecting mail and keeping copies of keys, s/he is much more involved in the social relations that exist inside each building. The social concierge is in the very first place a person of trust for the inhabitants. It is a reference point for people that have any sort of complaints and for people that don’t know where to turn to for any kind of problem, which is extremely important when we talk about a neighbourhood with a fairly high share of foreign people as it is the case in Gratosoglio.

The concierge will be a spokesperson for the building, representing

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idea

it in meetings and defending it in front of the institutions like the municipality and ALER. This would give any building a leverage when it comes to maintenance and settling requests.

In a nutshell, he or she could be anyone. However, in our approach we favour to have someone that is already an inhabitant of the building because we believe it is best if someone takes on this task that already has a pretty good knowledge about what is going on inside the slab. Beside this remark, there are however no more restrictions.

The concierge can be anyone who is willing to take on this job, there are no constraints in terms of gender, nationality nor age. That being said, we would appreciate it a lot and it would be a plus if the concierge had any kind of experience in this matter. Although we say that anyone is free to apply, which is the case, this job is designed in the first place for people that are looking for a job or for inactive persons that could be depending on an income source.

who is the concierge?

Designing the profile of the concierge is one step, finding the perfect embodiment of our wild imaginations is completely another one.

First of all, it is very important that the position of the concierge is not seen in an authoritarian position, which could introduce a power struggle to an already very fragile neighbourhood, but simply as another inhabitant. This is way it is important that the concierge is backed by the inhabitants of each respective building.

To do so there are certain criteria that should be applied in order to appoint the right person for this job the first one being that the applicant should preferably be already an inhabitant of one of the selected buildings (2-3 years at least). In this case the person would already know the surrounding the inhabitants and be aware of the ongoing underlying issues. Furthermore, we’re looking to give this job opportunity to people that are either unemployed, retired or parttime workers. As it is a job opportunity we’d like to offer it to those that may struggle in the labour market and could take this chance.

Evidently each applicant must possess some skills and qualities that are of paramount importance in order to be considered. In our opinion the most important skill resides with the human interaction. Any applicant must show interest in working together with other people and willingness to engage in a social contract. The concierge will represent a person of trust in each building to whom the inhabitants can turn to and trust him with their general or personal issues. Hence the importance of a concierge that knows how to deal with these kind of situations and is ready to help people in need. Lastly but not least, any of the applicants has to be interested in managing and organizational tasks. As we will see further down the line of this project, the concierge will be responsible for organizing events and managing the common spaces as well as the maintenance of the buildings. This is a very important task as it includes managing a certain budget which requires absolute professionalism. The future concierges can not back down from their organizational responsibilities and can’t neglect the importance of keeping a well run schedule.

how do we find this person?

As romantic as the idea sounds, we are aware that there is a good chance that we won’t be able to find this person on our first try. This is why in the circumstances that we won’t have any volunteer, we are prepared to bring in a person from a cooperative such as DAR=Casa, who would come in to work for a temporary period in a dwelling of the designated building. During this period, we’ll try to warm up the inhabitants towards our project until we find someone from the building that will be willing to take on the job.

what if we don’t find this person?

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idea

concierge’s criterias

interest in human interaction

interest in managing organization

concierge’s activities a_point of reference the concierge is first of all a point of reference for the inhabitants of the building: someone for ask helps, for make complaints, requests..

b_management of events and spaces the concierge will manage the co-space at the ground floor (see the next project), organizing a shared calendar and maintaning the space in good condition. but also the concierge can organize with ihnabitants collective events like dinnes, breaks and other common situations

c_control inside the building the concierge must to control the inhabitants and their behaviors in order to avoid misunderstanding, so the concierge must to work a lot in communicating the building’s rules

inhabitant of the building, by ... two/three years

free time to act as a concierge, unemployee person, retired person, or part-time young worker

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vertical + horizontal dimension RE-OPENING OF THE EX-CONCIERGERIES

common spaces

physical interventions

The second concept of our project incorporates the desire to improve common spaces in the neighbourhood. When visiting the area, it is very visible that there is a lack of spaces that can be used collectively by the inhabitants, hence the low participation to activities. On a second note, we found that the few existing common spaces are often play-grounds or sports facilities. Therefore, we can identify a monofunctional use. If we pair this fact with the evident observation of closed ground floors, we can say that there is a need of more efficient use of common spaces throughout Gratosoglio. It is fair to say that the inhabitants have insufficient common physical spaces. It is, in our opinion, necessary that we provide this sort of spaces because they give the inhabitants the possibility to get more involved into social interactions.

The areas we identified and selected for this concept are situated very close to the actual residential buildings and, in some cases, are even part of this typology. They consist of the old abandoned concierge depots that are located on the ground floor in-between buildings and the garbage storages that are situated several meters away of each building.

The concierge depots are in some cases nothing more than a storage place that is currently used to bunk all the cleaning material used for the maintenance of the buildings. In some other cases they are just abandoned. However, we’ve found some of these depots that already have been transformed into common spaces. The interior has been furnished with a table and some chairs and the walls replaced with glass to create a transparent effect. This is exactly the direction in which we want to go with this concept. When it comes to the garbage storage, the transformations will be a bit more complicated as they are

2 idea

all in use. Firstly, we need to find out if we could select some storages that can later be transformed without disrupting the everyday use of the inhabitants. If this is possible, these garbage storages will undergo the same transformation as the concierge depots.

Although they are of collective use, these places will only be accessible at certain times of the day. During all the non-available hours they will be locked to guarantee a better management. In order to gain access to these places we put up a calendar in which everyone can schedule a time in which they desire to access this space. The accessibility will be controlled by the concierges of the cluster of concerned buildings. In this way, we are sure to guarantee the fairest use possible for every inhabitant.

In a nutshell, they are free spaces that are managed by the concierges and open to the public, especially targeted for the inhabitants of the concerned residential buildings. They are spaces that people can share and that can be used for different kinds of events. Every storage is set to be very flexible to adapt to the needs of the next user who is going to book them. This means the space in its natural state is very neutral. However, we want to stress the point of flexibility a little bit. Although we agree on the fact that each space should be able to adapt the specific needs, we would like to give each and every of them a certain theme upon which they will act. So for instance, one of these spaces can be seen as a sort of library but can also be used as a study room (for group study) or for private tutoring. In this way we try to introduce a variety of activities that are not yet present in the neighbourhood.

The principles functions are quite simple. The common spaces can be booked and paid off by two different options. Inhabitants of the buildings can have a space for free if they provide some services in exchange. These services will be beneficial for the community of the building. This means for example that a person who helps children out doing their homework can ask to use a space without paying a rent. Another example could be a plumber or electrician (handy man) who in his free time lends a hand to the concierge whenever s/he is in need. As long as one provides any contribution to the community the common spaces will be at one’s free disposal. The second way is to simply pay a little rent. Now, this rent is set at a very low level as to not scare the inhabitants off. In that way we can also generate another source of income for the general management by the concierges.

It is important to state that the inhabitants are in full charge of maintaining the spaces during their stay. This means that everyone should leave the space in the same state as one has found it. This concerns cleaning and tidying up after the stay and reporting any damages immediately to the concierge.

The physical interventions to make these spaces possible are going to be very light. We are looking at basic architectural interventions to recover some of the abandoned spaces, window fixtures, new arrangement of the walls and overall renovation. Later on, all the selected spaces will undergo a quick graphic transformation in order to be more easily recognisable for the public. Lastly, we must equip these spaces with the appropriate furniture to guarantee a good functioning.

In the second part of our project we will go more in depth on how

where are these places available?

what exactly are these places?

b_using the colors (red) and graphic elements to re-design and to give identity to the space

a_recover of the openings to transform the space in a more visible space!

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c_basic furniture to be used in different ways, flexibility

these interventions will look like by displaying some examples that could be used as schemes for any kind of future intervention.

The overall goal in the vertical and horizontal dimension was to a) respond to the people’s concerns and b) emphasising on the flexibility in the use of common spaces. The participation and integration of citizens into urban planning projects and policy design has become a more and more popular procedure. In the case of Gratosoglio it is very useful to implicate the inhabitants into the project decision.

They should be able to voice their opinion when it comes to the use of common spaces because at the end they are the ones that will use them later on. This is why we handed out a survey to the inhabitants in which we asked them to give us their opinion on if they would be open to the idea of creating common spaces and if yes they could indicate which kind of uses they would see fit to introduce. The return of this survey was, much to our content, really positive, which proved that the inhabitants are willing to take actions to actively participate in the enhancement of their neighbourhood.

7.

people’s involvement

horizontal dimension RE-USE OF THE GROUND FLOORS

This concept represents the last dimension of our project. After working our way down the buildings, this dimension is concerned with the issue of the low intensity of activity and mediocre display of the ground floors. The idea behind this dimension is to improve the quality of the ground floors and break the physical barriers which obstruct transparency throughout the neighbourhood. This dimension is not directed to a specific set of buildings, but is meant for the entire neighbourhood. where are these places and when are they available?

what kind of activities will be hosted?

For this intervention we are particularly looking at the ground floors of the ALER’s towers, as well as at some of the ground floors of the slabs if their typology permits it. Some of these slabs actually host housing on their ground floors; in this case no intervention is envisaged. The opening hours of these places will depend on their use. The places will switch between public and private use, which will help to keep a continuous liveability going.

The main idea is to follow the guidelines given out by ALER and try to boost the economic dimension of Gratosoglio. This is why we try to especially attract the youth to get involved in this dimension and turn these ground floors into an economic asset and create new job opportunities. This is also the same direction in which the Regional Planning Department and the Municipality will be working in the future, hence why later on in our project we lay back on further physical interventions and focus more on the first two dimensions.

It is important to state that, even though we envisage introducing economic activities, we do not want to see a massive immigration of companies into the area and we do not expect to see the new apple or amazon coming out of any of the start-ups that may be created

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here. In our opinion these places and activities should be shaped to the identity and the actual needs of the inhabitants. For instance, we point at introducing activities like continuous training to add or learn new skills and re-qualify people for the labour market. Spaces for young motivated people who want to get a foot into the market and who can be guided through their first steps but, at the same time, spaces that can be used as a retreat or comfort zone where people can relax and hang out. Lastly, we also aim to give some of these spaces to the concierges’ cooperative, so that they can operate from there. Clearly, given the state of the neighbourhood, these places will be proposed at a low rent to give as many people as possible the opportunity to take advantage of them.

First of all, we need to undertake renovation of all the architectural spaces to make them ready to host new activities. Later on, the biggest challenge is to break the physical barriers and create a more transparent identity. There is a clear need to have open ground floors and this is why we need to get rid of rolling shutters and opaque curtains. Next, there will be graphic interventions, which follow the graphic project of the entire neighbourhood, to identify different uses. In a second step, the planning phase will integrate the users themselves in a participation process that can enhance the identity and the property of the space, and give opportunities to young people to act.

physical interventions

the ground floors’ intervention will start from the towers where outside we find also huge and interesting open (public) spaces

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via Baroni

where we want to act as starting point in the neighborhood.. why?

a_VISIBILITY FOR THEIR POSITION INSIDE THE NEIGHBORHOOD b_CONVENIENT PRECONDITION thanks to the presence of the autogestione_

what does it mean? self management inhabitants’ organization inside Aler districts_ people in there are used (more or less) to communicate, to collaborate, to ask

park

church

with sport area

CAM

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PROCESS FOR THE PROJECT incremental process to act in the territory

During the conceptualisation of the project, we came to realise its big dimension and the ambition of it. After some reflections, we concluded that it would be most rational and efficient to start the project on a single slab. In our case this is a set of three slabs which form an entity, that are situated in the very heart of Gratosoglio, have the required typology to conduct our project and, most importantly, benefit already from the autogestione concept which fits perfectly into our vision. The idea behind this choice is to start the project on a small scale, prove that it actually works and set a base upon which, step by step, more buildings can be included. In that way we can prevent any kind of overwhelming situations, especially in the starting phase of our project.

Phase I 1 building

Phase II

3 buildings

Phase III

more than 10 buildings

Phase IV

whole neighborhood

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human dimension

opening

small interventions in one direction

By concluding we have to ask the question where this project will lead us. The most important element of our project was the human itself. It is our desire to help improving life conditions and generating social interactions. Since we took the decision of putting each person at the centre of our attention, all actions – conceptual or physical – are directed at this purpose.

We strongly believe that our project will lead to improvement in that regard because we put the trust in the hands of the inhabitants themselves. Gratosoglio cannot be changed with implementations from outside. The only way forward needs the inhabitants to be the catalyst for change.

By providing them with the needed support, tools and funds, such support will be circulated aroud the neighbourhood.

Further down the line as our projects unfolds, the common spaces and particularly the selected ground-floor spaces will be put into a better light. The closed spaces will be opened to the public. This does not necessarily mean that everybody has access to them, but that there is a certain transparency which is important for any form of well-being inside a neighbourhood. Step by step, we will see small interventions throughout the neighbourhood which will result in the creation of common spaces that host different kinds of activities. It will boost the liveability of Gratosoglio and give opportunities for inhabitants to improve social interactions. As these interventions will come to an end, they will be integrated into a network which runs through Gratosoglio sewing each and every one into one big community.

references_ AA.VV, 2011, Il Gestore Sociale, amministrate gli immobili e gestire la comunità nei progetti di housing sociale, Fondazione Housing Sociale, Milano, Altreconomia Edizioni Sclavi M. 2002, Avventure urbane, progettare la città con gli abitanti, Milano, Eleuthera editrice Cognetti Francesca (a cura di), Vuoti a Rendere, progetti per la reinterpretazione e il riuso degli spazi nell’edilizia pubblica, i quaderni polisocial, 2014 Comune di Milano, Safety departement, progetto MIX, 2016/17 Liverpool City Council, Shops for a Pound, 2016 Comune di Bologna, Incredibol!, Bando per la concessione di immobili a canone ridotto in piazza dei Colori, Bologna, 2016 Comune di Milano, Social departement, Custode Sociale, 2016 special thanks to_ Pina del Conte, from Sant’Eusebio Neighborhood, in Cinisello Balsamo, we ask her experience in terms of relationships’ management in oscial housing Michele Valtorta, from via Baroni 112, we ask his experience in terms of augtogestione and relationships with ALER in Gratosoglio list of figures (our credits)_ 1. square “la piastra”, Gratosoglio 2. towers’ ground floors 3. CAM’s first floor 4. CAM’s first floor 5. vision for the first idea, via Baroni 94 6. ex conciergerie, Autogestione via Baroni 100-104 7. photomontage, the transformation of the ex conciergerie_second idea 8. vision for “la piastra”_third idea 9. Gratosoglio’s map (from south to north) 10. Gratosoglio’s 3D drawing (view from south to north)