This is the story of a young traveller who could hardly make it to Piacenza in 2021. Half historian, part-time archaeologist, full-time visionary designer, she uses available old and new documents, to reconstruct in her mind, an imagined Piacenza, both fictive and real. She projects herself into a rather ideal future, where Nature has retrieved its primordial presence and where new connections and expanses of open public realms have been envisioned between the old city and the river, past the old walls, past obstructive infrastructure, past illusory boundaries.
Based on a study in layers of the genealogies of the city, every student developed a palimpsest mapping. Grouped in 7 themes, 1: From Piazza Cavalli to River Po, 2: The Roman Wall in Ruins, 3: Agro-Palimpsest, 4: Erasing Highway A21, 5: Reconnecting the Riverbank, 6: Revisiting Industrial Artifacts, 7: Canals, Bridges and Beyond; every group developed a future vision of the city as a hopeful renewal of the old ruins through collage mapping and visionary postcards.
Class Masterplan
“Heading the advice of Nietzsche and Heidegger, the architect must avoid the planner’s dream of total solutions and be prepared to wait patiently for the rustle of the angels’ wings that may be passing by.”
Alberto Pérez-Gómez, “Built upon Love”
Atelier taught at the Politecnico di Milano, Landscape of[f] Limits.
Organized by: Sara Protasoni, Direction. Michele Roda, Sara Anna Sapone, Coordination. Antonella Contin, Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira, Andrea Oldani, Matteo Poli, Executive board. Chiara Locardi, International network. Valentina Galiuolo, Federico Mistò, Thematic Focus. Anna Solimando, Registration Office.
Students: Agrawal Ishita, Ark Nur Irmak, Doan Le Bao Tram, Esna Ashari Anis, Ghesmatiaghkand Tara, Guo Yujie, Hamada Mariya, Hou Caixiao, Huang Liye, Huang Jiahong, John Wesley, John Jesuran, Li Jiale, Lu Jingping, Muwal Garima, Nema Kritika, Nikolić Andela, Pan Zhen, Perumal Balayukesh, Premkumar Amaldev, Sajadijahromi Salmaalsadat, Soumitra, Tang Jie, Wang Shushu, Wang Xiaoyu, Xiong Dongmei, Zhang Jingyu, Zhang Siman, Zhu Zhengwen.