SLEEPING SPACE

The series stems from a particular research enquiry: what kind of opportunities can good architecture offer to a city and its community over time? What potential is lost without it?

What possibilities open up when spaces are utilised differently from the planners’ original vision?

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The area of the former wholesale market in Turin is used here as a case in point: built in the late Twenties of the XX Century, it was converted into the hub of the Olympic district in 2006 with an architectural design focused on its future reuse and the gentrification of the urban area. According to the authorities’ plans it should have become an international, scientific and technological epicentre, but, instead, became home for hundreds of refugees, an event described in the media as Europe's largest illegal occupation. 

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The images were taken during the securing phase that followed the eviction of this community. They conjure up intriguing narratives and questions: will the recent circumstances inject new life into these constructions, or will they coincide with the onset of a long sleep?