TRANSITIONAL HOUSING An Expansion Strategy for SPRAR Refugee Second Reception [by Emad Lajevardi, 2019–2020] The thesis addresses the challenges of second-stage refugee reception, highlighting how existing housing solutions often fail to meet the spatial, safety, cultural and emotional needs of forcibly displaced people. Drawing on migration research and the concept of uncertain living, the project…

CO-LIVING Proposal for an Innovative Age-Friendly Cohabitation in Aler’s Estate [by Ilaria Bianchi, 2019–2020] The thesis explores innovative co-living models designed for older adults (65+), aiming to reduce isolation, encourage social interaction and provide a supportive environment without removing residents from their familiar neighborhood. By examining existing co-living practices and relevant case studies, the project…

ZERO TYPEManual Against Typological Stereotypes[by Morena Amendolagine & Michela Stamin, 2019–2020] The thesis defines a “zero type”: a primary housing model capable of overcoming typological stereotypes by identifying the essential features that allow long-term spatial flexibility. The research compares nineteenth-century residential buildings with modern and contemporary cases to determine which architectural qualities enable spaces to…

BEYOND RETROFITTINGInvestigating the Role of Spatial Quality in Energy Performance Strategies[by Alice Cajelli & Gianluca Guiu, 2019–2020] The thesis investigates how spatial quality can enhance energy retrofitting strategies, moving beyond a purely technical approach to the renovation of existing social housing. The chosen case study – a residential complex in the Romolo district of Milan…

ORDINARY COURTYARDS[by Valeria Righetti & Marta Sciarra, 2019-2020] During lockdown, ordinary courtyards revealed an unexpected potential: previously neglected spaces used as parking or storage became places for new forms of daily life. The project investigates how these semi-private domestic courtyards can become a new model of public space in the post-pandemic city. Applied to a…

CIÖNDÒL A Public Space for Mobile Residents in Borno [by Irene Comini, July 2019] Borno is an isolated alpine village where many inhabitants commute long hours every day for work or study. Interviews and daily-life reconstructions reveal how this mobile lifestyle reduces their participation in the social life of the village. The project reactivates the…

CO-LIVING A strategy for the future city housing [by Laura Vanazzi, July 2019] This research is inspired by the studies in Politecnico di Milano at the department of Architecture and Urban Studies about the evolution of dwellings practices and the need of new spaces, policies and processes, in the contemporary housing scene in Italy. What…

RIPENSARE GLI SPAZI DELL’INFRASTRUTTURAStrategies for reprogramming the interchanges of Milan’s eastern ring road[by Antonio Lento, April 2019] The thesis examines how the unused voids within Milan’s eastern ring-road interchanges can be reclaimed as new collective spaces. Through the analysis of mobility, open-space systems and the urban fabric, the project highlights the strategic role of these…

IL TEMPO CHE SFUGGE ALLA STORIAA strategy for reactivating the Marchiondi complex[by Tinto Miriam, 2017–2018]This thesis investigates the long-abandoned Marchiondi Spagliardi Institute in Baggio, a masterpiece of Italian brutalism now trapped between administrative conflict, failed restoration attempts and the absence of a clear cultural stance on modern heritage. Through critical and historical analysis, the research…

YOUTH COMMUNERe-Thinking modernist architecture according to contemporary conditions[by Vigan Zika, April 2019] The “Rilindja” Media House building, was one of the victims of this process, its architecture, program and history were altered, it lost its importance, and as a result, a huge part of the architectural and historical heritage of Kosovo was erased.These aspects introduced…

OPPORTUNITIESA strategy for the adaptive reuse of churches[by Lorenzo Sizzi, April 2019]Opportunities arises from the desire to conceive a strategy capable of preventing the practice of uncontrolled and unconscious reuse of churches. The strategy is organized in two phases. The first is based on the study of the work of two architects and is aimed…

FROM WASTELAND TO WETLANDThe cityscape as green transition toward Ecological Civilization[by Riccardo Mameli, April 2019]The east Bund of Huangpu River is now required to include public space quality enhancement, ecological environment optimization and cultural function clustering. It is the perfect occasion for a re ection of the redevelopment of brown-fields in green elds. e purpose…

RE-ACTIVATION-THROUGH INTEGRATION The case of Campo Marzio in Vicenza [by Federico Riva, July 2018] The research aims to explore the relation between individuals and places in the contemporary city and to investigate the way the social dynamics can foster the process of integration in a more and more diverse and multi-ethnic society, taking as starting…

WELFARE SPACEArchitecture as a tool for social regeneration in peripheral contexts[by Nicola Sirugo, 2016–2017]Pozzallo, a peripheral town on the Sicilian coast, exemplifies the condition of many Italian provinces marked by geographic isolation and social fragility. Starting from an analysis of the town’s criticalities and specific territorial qualities, the project explores architecture as an active tool…

IN / TRANSITPermanent architectures for temporary living[Eugenio Nuzzo, 2017]Economic transition, labour instability, and changing family structures have reshaped contemporary housing needs, making temporary living conditions increasingly widespread. The project addresses temporary housing as an emerging social necessity, focusing on individuals and families facing economic vulnerability. Positioned between research and design, In Transit investigates causes, spatial…

ITALIA NON FINITAA proposal for reactivation[Lucia Delmonte, 2015]Across Italy, a vast number of unfinished public works remain scattered throughout the territory. Begun but never completed for overlapping economic, administrative, and political reasons, these structures range from infrastructures to residential, educational, and cultural buildings. Rather than treating them as failures, the thesis reframes unfinished works as…

SOCIAL FAMILYAn “Aging in Place” Solution for Elderly[Yu Sun, 2015]Responding to the global phenomenon of population ageing, this thesis explores alternative housing strategies for elderly people in Milan. The project addresses the social, spatial, and demographic implications of longer life expectancy and declining fertility, proposing an “aging in place” model that supports autonomy, everyday life,…

MUSEO D’EUROPA COME MUSEO DELLE MIGRAZIONI Future Museum of Europe as a Museum of Migrations [by Marta Pavan, Martina Scaravati, 2013/2014] Conceived as a response to Europe’s hybrid and transnational identity, the project reimagines the Museum of Europe as an itinerant and nomadic institution. Rather than a static monument, the museum becomes a traveling exhibition…

NUOVI SPAZI DELLA MEMORIATwo projects for the Resistance and the Liberation in Milan[by Marco Mazzola, Alessandro Menini, 2014]The project reflects on how memory can remain active in contemporary cities, questioning the limits of traditional commemorative forms. Through two design proposals related to the Resistance and the Liberation in Milan, it explores new spatial strategies to…

SUPERFICIE URBANA, RELAZIONI EFFIMERE, COSTELLAZIONE DI MICRO SPAZIUrban surface, ephemeral relationships, constellation of micro spaces[Alice Babini, Anna Pierotello, 2015]An urban project focused on reactivating public space through a constellation of small-scale interventions. Developed as a site-specific strategy in Berlin, the work combines critical mapping, social matrices, and micro-scale surveys to identify underused urban surfaces. By…

ARCHITECTURE OF POSTPRODUCTIONA design approach based on reuse, recycling, and transformation[by Ludovica Niero, 2014]The thesis explores postproduction as a cultural and architectural practice, where existing materials, spaces, and ideas are reinterpreted rather than newly produced. Starting from reflections on recycling and contemporary production systems, the research investigates how architecture can operate through reuse, montage, and…

SHARED SQUARE METERSA new paradigm for shared living in Milan[by Laura Doardo, 2014]Set within the context of contemporary Milanese housing, the project questions the reduction of living space to fixed typologies and predefined dimensions. By observing how media, objects, events, and human relationships increasingly shape domestic environments, the thesis explores shared living as a flexible…

OLTRE IL MUROGrowth, development and value of the former Paolo Pini Psychiatric Hospital[by Francesco Covelli, Elisabetta Martelli, July 2014]Set within the former Paolo Pini Psychiatric Hospital in Milan, the project focuses on the shared ground that connects the many activities now inhabiting the site. Conceived as a collective and open park, this common space becomes…

BORDER MEMORIESRe-enacting difficult heritage[by Elisa Mansutti, 2013]Set within the transnational territory of Venezia Giulia, shared by Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia, the project addresses landscapes marked by unresolved ethnic conflict. Rather than preserving memory as a static record, the thesis proposes its re-activation through architecture, engaging traces embedded in soil and geography. The work confronts forms…

Ritorno all’AgriCulturaReturn to AgriCulture: Revitalizing an Abandoned Farmstead in the Iblei Mountains[by Carla Monaco, 2014]Set within the rural landscape of the Iblei Mountains in Sicily, the project addresses the progressive abandonment of agricultural land and traditional farming structures. Through the recovery of an abandoned masseria, the thesis explores a contemporary reinterpretation of agriculture as a…

MUSEUM IN AN AGE OF MIGRATIONS, OSLO KHM[Rachele Albini, December 2013]The world we live in it’s becoming everyday more a world of ‘others’ rather than a world of ‘self’. Students, workers, professionals and tourists are the new nomads, protagonists of a dynamism now more intense than in the past and which interests all kind of…

REDEFINING LANDSCAPESNew forms of compensation for unauthorized construction in Italy[by Stefano Galasso, 2013]Developed within the Integrated Adaptive Re-Use course at Politecnico di Milano, the research addresses the widespread condition of building abuse in Italian landscapes, often hidden behind environmental and cultural value. The project investigates how architecture can act as a compensatory tool, transforming minor…

SHRINKING MONTEVIDEOUrban contraction as a design challenge[by Isabella Forestieri, 2013]Urbanization is often associated with continuous growth, yet many cities around the world are instead facing processes of shrinkage. Shrinking Montevideo questions the assumption of inevitable urban expansion, reading the city as a living organism shaped by social and anthropological dynamics. The research reframes urban contraction…

URBAN FARMINGMilan [edible city][by Luca Pavarin, 2013]As a living beings we depend on food. Our entire life is shaped by this essential need but considering cities, the place in which we live and work, a contradiction is becoming visible. The sustenance of the urban lifestyle depends even more from something we produce elsewhere, in something…

BETTER SHARED HOUSEA Study on Human Relationship and Domestic Environment[by Yezi Zhang, Zui Tao, 2013]Exploring shared housing as an emerging global living model, the study investigates how domestic space influences relationships, well-being, and everyday life among unrelated residents. Focusing on spatial identity, intimacy, and conflict within shared homes, the research combines theoretical analysis, case studies,…