Reclaiming urban co-spaces: a method for regenerating former military barracks with focus on Bologna's "Ex-Caserma Sani"
(2024) ASBM01 20241Department of Architecture and Built Environment
- Abstract
- One of the issues of modern cities is their urban design which is not structured to allow human interaction and promote a feeling of community within their inhabitants. The constant growth and shortages of land are cause to the global housing crisis which requires densification. In the current capitalistic context, urban design becomes just another pawn of this profit making machine, causing gentrification, uncontrolled land consumption and segregation, unsustainable conditions for both inhabitants and the environment. Since building on untouched land is more profitable and not as strictly regulated, abandoned sites become urban voids that fragment cities and worsen people’s unsafety feelings.
These sites comprehend former military... (More) - One of the issues of modern cities is their urban design which is not structured to allow human interaction and promote a feeling of community within their inhabitants. The constant growth and shortages of land are cause to the global housing crisis which requires densification. In the current capitalistic context, urban design becomes just another pawn of this profit making machine, causing gentrification, uncontrolled land consumption and segregation, unsustainable conditions for both inhabitants and the environment. Since building on untouched land is more profitable and not as strictly regulated, abandoned sites become urban voids that fragment cities and worsen people’s unsafety feelings.
These sites comprehend former military assets, which are now mostly abandoned areas situated in strategic locations due to their previous defensive function. Many of these areas include outdoor green spaces that make them more valuable considering the excess of asphalted surfaces of cities. The problem with their regeneration is often the cost of securing the buildings’ structures while preserving their historically relevant architecture and the remediation of their polluted soil. A lot of times they become privatised areas to overcome these costs.
Since the former military barracks were originally a service towards the citizens their function should change according to the different needs of the communities.
Within this framework, this thesis explores the connection between social and urban dynamics and how abandoned former military assets can be repurposed addressing both the social and urban aspects. The aim of this thesis is to develop a holistic bottom-up approach towards the regeneration of former military barracks.
By identifying the context of the former military assets, researching international, national and local examples of regeneration and analysing the history, the governance and the local statistics, it is possible to identify the needs of the community, build a strategy accordingly and decide the new functions for the specific site.
This thesis proposes an applied example of the overall approach which focuses on Italy and the Sani former military barracks in Bologna, developing a site specific project. The results show how resourceful this enclosed area can be for the neighbourhood when opened up. Firstly it allows the local community to benefit from the green area within the walls of the barracks. Then the existing buildings can provide the much needed space for community living and community centres, promoting social interactions and activating the neighbourhood. Additionally, by preserving the architecture, the history and identity of the place do not get erased. By densifying the area, the project contributes to overcoming the housing crisis and the overconsumption of land.
This approach is what shapes the project’s design and decision-making and aims to generate inclusive, affordable, biodiverse, safe and social spaces. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9182449
- author
- Basile, Camilla LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ASBM01 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Regeneration, Military barracks, Urban design, Collaborative housing, Bologna
- language
- English
- id
- 9182449
- date added to LUP
- 2025-01-23 10:06:05
- date last changed
- 2025-01-23 10:06:05
@misc{9182449,
abstract = {{One of the issues of modern cities is their urban design which is not structured to allow human interaction and promote a feeling of community within their inhabitants. The constant growth and shortages of land are cause to the global housing crisis which requires densification. In the current capitalistic context, urban design becomes just another pawn of this profit making machine, causing gentrification, uncontrolled land consumption and segregation, unsustainable conditions for both inhabitants and the environment. Since building on untouched land is more profitable and not as strictly regulated, abandoned sites become urban voids that fragment cities and worsen people’s unsafety feelings.
These sites comprehend former military assets, which are now mostly abandoned areas situated in strategic locations due to their previous defensive function. Many of these areas include outdoor green spaces that make them more valuable considering the excess of asphalted surfaces of cities. The problem with their regeneration is often the cost of securing the buildings’ structures while preserving their historically relevant architecture and the remediation of their polluted soil. A lot of times they become privatised areas to overcome these costs.
Since the former military barracks were originally a service towards the citizens their function should change according to the different needs of the communities.
Within this framework, this thesis explores the connection between social and urban dynamics and how abandoned former military assets can be repurposed addressing both the social and urban aspects. The aim of this thesis is to develop a holistic bottom-up approach towards the regeneration of former military barracks.
By identifying the context of the former military assets, researching international, national and local examples of regeneration and analysing the history, the governance and the local statistics, it is possible to identify the needs of the community, build a strategy accordingly and decide the new functions for the specific site.
This thesis proposes an applied example of the overall approach which focuses on Italy and the Sani former military barracks in Bologna, developing a site specific project. The results show how resourceful this enclosed area can be for the neighbourhood when opened up. Firstly it allows the local community to benefit from the green area within the walls of the barracks. Then the existing buildings can provide the much needed space for community living and community centres, promoting social interactions and activating the neighbourhood. Additionally, by preserving the architecture, the history and identity of the place do not get erased. By densifying the area, the project contributes to overcoming the housing crisis and the overconsumption of land.
This approach is what shapes the project’s design and decision-making and aims to generate inclusive, affordable, biodiverse, safe and social spaces.}},
author = {{Basile, Camilla}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Reclaiming urban co-spaces: a method for regenerating former military barracks with focus on Bologna's "Ex-Caserma Sani"}},
year = {{2024}},
}