Portfolio

Accademic Projects

1 Hydroecological Landscapes

Master project. MAS UTD ETH Agroecolgy of Territory

2 Inverted Groundscapes

Master project. MAS UTD EPFL HRC-ENAC

3 Arts and Crafts Campus

Bachelor thesis: Urban and Architecture requalification

4 Courthouse

Design competition "Parco della Giustizia di Bari"

5 Urban Grid

Preliminary study for a new residential building

6 Students Residence

Professional Projects

Design competition "Requalification Ex-Convent in student residence"

FIGURE 1. VISION OF A NEW CAMPAGNA 2040

FIGURE 2. INTENSIVE FARMING IN FURTTAL

Hydroecological Landscapes

Water, Soil and Climate resilience in Furttal Valley

Location: Zürich, Switzerland

Programme: Research Project MAS UTD ETH

Date: June 2023

Supervisor: Prof. Milica Topalovic, Nancy Cooling and Alice Clarke

The destruction of the wetlands, the frenetic expansion of agriculture, and the growth of cities have led us to question the progress made by our civilization in recent centuries. The process of draining the lands has led to unstable conditions of the soil’s capacity to absorb water, making the land more vulnerable to climate change. Overexploitation of natural resources has led to water shortages in a country that was originally saturated with water. Water scarcity poses a significant challenge for Swiss farmers. Droughts and limited irrigation options hinder crop growth and reduce agricultural productivity. This, in turn, can affect food security and lead to economic losses for farmers.

The Furttal Valley is of primary example in Canton Zürich for its rapid urbanization and agricultural pressure exerted on water bodies over the last century. Valued as the biggest vegetable basket in the metropolitan area of Zürich, the landscape of the valley reflects the drastic consequences of a highly productive system. The urgent need to remediate the water crisis of the last few years has resulted in a substantial engineering project that will postpone, for a few years, a radical revolution needed to restore the soilwater fabric in agriculture.

The current state of freshwater in Switzerland and abroad is of paramount importance and signals the need to change our treatment of these resources that we rely upon. As one of the principal activities that consumes water, this research questions the role that Agriculture plays in this fabric of soil and water as a key to improving alternative practices that can regenerate and restore human and non-human relationships. It is crucial to amend the way we manage the land, regarding the availability of resources by considering the use of less water and adapting the cultivation models to new climate conditions.

Going through the territory, the main strategies to define a new hydroecological landscape of the valley were based on the analysis of flood risk areas, the soil wetness, the exposure to wind and sun, the slope and altitude, and finally the existing water infrastructures. Defining four main threads: the dry cultures, located along the southfacing slopes, the wet cultures opposing them on the north-facing slope, the flooded cultures, at the bottom of the valley and ultimately the settlements and industrial areas.

FIGURE 1. MAP OF POTENTIAL WATERSCAPES OF FURTTAL VALLEY

FIGURE 2. DRY CULTURES

FIGURE 3. WET CULTURES

FIGURE 1. RICE CULTIVATION LIFE CYCLE

FIGURE 2. FLOODED CULTURES

FIGURE 1. MAP OF THE POTENTIAL WATERSCAPES OF CANTON ZÜRICH

FIGURE 2. VISION OF THE HYDROECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES OF THE VALLEY

The vision for new potential hydroecological landscapes in the region of Canton Zürich is a coexistence of different ecological habitats and practices that relate to water in a more sustainable approach. First of all, the relation between land-use and site will be based on ecological dialogues with the natural conditions of the sites, that nowadays are completely exploited and altered.

Moreover, the introduction of new cultures as an adaptation to the changes in climate conditions is also a contribution to a vision of a new diet and self-sustenance of the country.

Less imported goods, as well as the labor force, are critical problems that can be addressed with a new design of the agricultural landscapes. Finally, the restoration of the soil water fabric is the first step toward a stronger resilience to climate change effects we are facing.

FIGURE 1. INVERTED GROUNDSCAPES

FIGURE 2. URBAN FABRIC LIFE CYCLE

Inverted Groundscapes

Location: Lausanne, Switzerland

Programme: Research project MAS UTD EPFL

Date: February 2023

Supervisor: Prof. Paola Viganò, Micheal Finglenton

The need for radical change in the construction process and the mobility system is imperative. Planet Earth has reached the limit of its strength to handle these processes as they exist today. The implementation of new laws, the mitigation of the construction, the promotion of recycling materials, the use of low-resource materials, and closed-loop logistics are only some of the practices that need to be applied in order to head towards a sustainable future. At the same time, for the mitigation of CO2 emissions, the need for sustainable mobility and the turn to public transport and soft mobility is crucial. On the other hand, these new alternatives will keep producing construction waste, while the implementation of sustainable practices cannot yet be implemented in larger projects.

The goal of our strategy is to rethink construction waste as a material, which can be used within the territory in order to heal traumatized landscapes and be part of the urban metabolism. Moreover, the alterations mentioned above are going to lead to the emergence of drosscapes that offer the opportunity to envision space differently. These new opportunities for materials and free space can be used for the creation of regenerated landscapes, green corridors, and socioecological spaces that enhance the quality of life. The vision of the future is to terminate the disposal of construction waste in landfills that are located in the natural environment, as well as to heal the traumatized landscapes generated by construction activities. This is possible by finding alternative ways and implementing sustainable construction processes as mentioned above. Nowadays the natural landscape is not only affected by the continual construction of new infrastructures needed for the operation of contemporary society, but also by the activities inextricably linked with it. Excavation sites, landfills, and quarries are altering the form and the quality of the natural environment and are primary components of an endless loop, creating the palimpsest of the Anthropocene.

Behind the expansion of a city, there are certain actions taking place. Raw materials are extracted from quarries and are transferred through large mobility networks to different territories and foreign environments to be transformed into construction materials that end up in construction sites. The materials that are not needed anymore or are the end-product of the construction processes are considered waste. The waste is piled up and awaits to be removed and transferred to landfills and incineration plants.

These processes result in the generation of traumatized landscapes. Traumatized landscapes are located in the natural environment and have lost their attributes. They can be described as a wound created by humans, they are non-places and are unable to host any kind of life, like voids in nature. These landscapes are rapidly expanding, not only causing social inequalities, boundaries, and gradation, but they are also degrading biodiversity and the natural environment while leading to the creation of wastescapes.

FIGURE 1. CONSTRUCTION WASTE

The expansion of the city of Lausanne and its population growth requires the construction of more mobility infrastructures. In order to achieve sustainability goals and to meet future mobility needs, while mitigating car use, For this reason, the construction of Metro Line M3 is going to be constructed between the station and La Blécherette and is due for 2031. The route of M3 is going to be double-track and completely underground while covering 3.6km of distance.

In our scenario, we use the case of the new M3 metro line by rethinking the materials generated by the construction and finding ways to reclaim them in the urban fabric. The construction of the M3 line is going to generate 1.3 million m3 of excavation materials, 44% of which is clean soil (unpolluted type A), 43% as contaminated soil, and around 10% construction waste of other types destined for landfills outside of Canton de Vaud.

Layering of materials for the creation of the artificial hills.

Sections of the highway - Current situation

Sections of the highway - Proposal

Sections of the highway - Current situation

Sections of the highway - Proposal

FIGURE 1. SECTIONS OF THE INVERTED GROUNDSCAPES

In order to achieve the sustainability goals and to head towards a socioecological future is not only necessary to handle the large amounts of waste that are going to be generated from this transition but also to manage the waste spaces that are going to be derived in the future. These spaces are going to be abandoned and scattered in the urban fabric, thus they can be seen as new opportunities.

FIGURE 2. MANIFESTO

FIGURE 3. DESIGN PROPOSAL OF THE NEW GREEN HIGHWAY

FIGURE 1. VISION OF THE NEW URBAN DISTRICT AT CHALAI BAZAR

FIGURE2. HAND DRAWN PLAN ASSEMBLY W/ CRAFTMENSHIPS PRACTICES

Arts and Crafts Campus

Location: Trivandrum, India

Programme: Thesis Project.

The arts and crafts Institute, urban and architectural requalification

Date: July 2020

Supervisor: prof.ssa Alessandra De Cesaris (ITA), prof. Claudio Secci (FRA)

The Chalai Bazaar is a coexistence and synergy of different activities, actors, castes, and religions that together create a strong society where everyone has a fundamental role. Since its foundation, the market has included not only a wide variety of products but above a wide and antique knowledge of traditional craftsmanship, deeply rooted in its social system. Chalai Bazar offers a scenario of how entire social branches work around local materials and craftsmen such as gold, wood, metal, textiles, spices, and flowers.

The project is based on the theoretical and experimental study of the relationship between two distinct urban and social realities: the frenetic and intense reality of a typical Indian bazaar and the calm and peaceful environment of the Government Central High School located at the beginning of the market. The direct experience of the market revealed how these two social areas coexist in the same urban reality without any dialogue. The perimetral wall of the school that determines this closing factor, was the starting point and inspiration for the architectural project’s development.

The wall becomes the protagonist of the new urban scenario: from being a dividing element, it changes into a connecting element between the school and the market. That happened through thickening the wall section, which allowed to incorporation of the new public activities, exceeding the social and urban limits that exist between the two realities. On the line of Louis Khan, the architectural project develops the meaning of the wall as a container of places and articulates the new school complex through the separation of serving spaces (inside the wall) and served spaces (attached bodies). The same logic extended to the market’s north urban sector has allowed it to regenerate the focal point of the whole bazaar as well as the main entrance and its connection to the sacred city. The following study also deals with a social issue: the many handicraft realities present in the market live a precarious conditions due to the increasing capitalist economy. The architectural regeneration of the school will bring the reality of craftsmanship into the educational sphere, defining a new synergy between these actors.

FIGURE 1. PLAN OF THE NEW INSTITUDE FIGURE2. SECTIONS AND VIEWS

Courthouse of Bari

Location: Bari, Italy

Programme: International Competition "Park of City of Justice of Bari" (2nd position).

Partnership with Park associati (MI), and Open Fabric (MI).

Date: May 2022

Supervisor: Moramarco+Ventrella Architetti

The gesture underlying the design proposal was thought of as a response to the dual nature of the competition announcement: on the one hand a public function completely permeable to the city and usable at all times of day, and on the other a highly specialized space with a rigidly organized level of separation of flows and accesses. The union of these two identities, so distant from each other and difficult to reconcile except through rigid compartmentalization of the lots, gives rise to a layered subdivision of the different functions. The careful separation of flows through the layering of paths makes it possible to structure the entire plan as a campus, where the different buildings stand in the middle of a large, fully accessible park.

The buildings and the park are based on variations of the same mesh, giving coherence to the spatial conformation of the project area. In this approach, the idea of a 'campus' is manifested as architectural artifacts surrounded by green spaces and trees. The architecture is thus enhanced by the tree mass with a delicate and effective balance. The water surfaces that characterize the 3 public squares located on the main north-south axis contribute to the harmonious dialogue between architecture and landscape. The proposed solution resolves the programmatic and distributive complexity of the program and, at the same time, provides the city with its largest urban park.

FIGURE 1. VISION OF THE NEW URBAN GRID FIGURE2. URBAN ANALYSIS OF CARRASSI DISTRICT

FIGURE 3. DESIGN CONCEPTUAL PHASES

Urban Grid

Location: Bari, Italy

Programme: proposal for urban requalification on private site

Date: November 2021

Supervisor: Davide Cara, info@studiocara.it

The project is based on the research of European architects of the 60s, such as Team X, Archizoom, Superstudio, and Giancarlo De Carlo on the problem of urban fragmentation especially in peripheral areas of urban centers. A modular grid extended over a considerable area, has been conceived as a high-density structure in which residential and collective volumes can be placed repetitively. Through this flexible horizontal and vertical composition, a democratic concept of architecture and urban reality has been experimented with in modern urban areas.

The following study aims to give this innovative scenario to the district of Carrassi: collective activities, offices, green spaces, and different actors will be organized through a modular grid. Since 1948 the urban development plan has designed this area as an important axis for vehicular traffic. Nowadays, the municipality wants to turn it into a district green area even though it is a private property that claims for profit. Our proposal aims to satisfy the different demands by reinterpreting the Team X theories. Offering the entire ground floor to pedestrian traffic and green public spaces the road becomes a public space for biodiversity interactions and public networks. The absence of boundaries between the roads and the area wants to denounce this role of public soil that embraces soft mobility and a lifestyle more sustainable.

neighbourhood activities

1. current situation

the site is a relevant green area, unused and closed to the neighbourhood for its private ownership.

2. pedestrian road the total pedestrian permeability at the ground floor is thought as a physical connection between two important urban axis.

3. green axis

a green connection between two important existance: historical garden of an ancient villa and the new urban Park of City of Justice.

5.

the concept of a matbuilding garantee a free fruition of the area without hierarchical principles.

the area is provided with new cultural and public activities open to all the inhabitants of the neighbourhood.

4. structural grid

new social hubs

VialeAntonioMeucci

urban hubs streets' network pedestrian areas green spaces

FIGURE 1. VIEW OF THE INTERNAL COURT FIGURE 2. SECTION A-A’

Students Residence

Location: Lecce, Italy

Programme: restoration of historical building.

Competition in team work with Davide Cara (project leader)

Date: January 2022

Supervisor: Davide Cara, info@studiocara.it

The project is based on the rethinking of the residential model of monastic architecture. The design proposed modifies and updates functions and spaces typical of conventual structures, but involves modernist experiences in the research of models that could combine individual and collective life. The project enhances the role of social spaces promoting the inclusion of spaces for conviviality, for the preparation and consumption of meals, for study and reading, and for outdoor walks like at the upper levels where there are pools for horticulture and a sportive path. All the rooms that by type and size in the original convent were used as spaces for gathering and meeting the inhabitants, have been redesigned as an opportunity for recreational and cultural activities accessible by the residents of the structure and external users. Three different types of accommodation have been thought of following the variety of vaulted cells: the single cell for two people, the square pavilion cell for a couple, and the rectangular pavilion cell for four people. In each proposal an isolated wooden structure defined the living space, offering versatility and flexibility to a different future use of this historical building. Moreover, a relevant innovation has been thought for the internal fronts of the main courtyard: a double-order wall made of prefabricated wooden elements defined on three sides of the contemporary project.

FIGURE 1. FIRST FLOOR PLAN FIGURE 2. AXOS OF THE APPARTMENTS