STITCHING TURIN: The project of urban regeneration through the 4-dimensional design strategy

In the current condition of shrinking the post-industrial cities the future of numerous abandoned and underused territories is becoming a crucial urban issue. These terrains vague remain in suspension for uncertain time, waiting for a change. In the age of austerity, the trend to the more time-flexible and economically affordable bottom-up urban practices gains momentum, manifesting itself in many examples throughout the world. They are opposed to the wait of the realization of urban planning strategies with their bu-reaucratic complexity and financial issues and are aimed to produce the immediate environmental and social impact in direct response to the public needs. Nevertheless, the full potential of these practices to regenerate livable urban environment is on the way to be explored. In fact, there are examples, where strategical vision and tactical approach co-exist together, activating spaces of the city and allowing citizens to be part of the urban transformation process. The master thesis is aimed to explore the feasibility of the strategical and tactical synergy in the urban condition of the city of Turin. By learning from the similarities and differences between different contexts the present work is an attempt to develop the unique strategy of space activation for Turin. For the pilot project the linear space of abandoned railways on Via San Bon was chosen. Since the abolition of its primal function happened in 2007, many proposals were discussed to pre-vent degradation and to stop criminal gathering in the area. However, none of them led to real physical transformation. The aim of the work is to consider all aspects of the site problem, and unfold the complexity of the relations and flows, related to the site in the most completed way. It will allow to create a strong base for the implementation of strategical and tactical synergy. The body of the thesis is provided in 5 parts composed within two domains: analytical and architectonic. The first part is dedicated to the general observation of the existing urban condition, in which the present thesis is developed. The second chapter analyses the context of the project area. The economical, territorial, social, and morphological aspects of the site are examined and the urban regulations, related to the site, are identified. The third part is aimed to examine the references, which can serve for the development of the architectural intervention. The analysis starts from the bibliographic survey, tracing the most relevant books and articles, related to the topic. Finally, three case studies are chosen for the analysis as references. Each of them represents an example of different scale, where the temporary use of the place led to the unexpected site transformation and had a catalytic impact on the overall regeneration process of the area. The fourth chapter is dedicated to the identification of the conditions and aspects of the temporary use as a tool for the urban regeneration and its evaluation within the Turin urban condition. The legislation of Turin is revised to understand the legal predispositions for the temporary interventions. The fifth part of the thesis is devoted to the development of the project intervention in the area. Based on the research part, the intervention is designed as a framework, where time is considerable measure for its content. The final strategic map for the site activation connects all the research outcome and design interventions together.