RESIDENTIAL SCULPTURES

The story of Turin’s former Olympic district is a powerful lens through which to examine the gap between urban planning’s intent and the unpredictable realities of how architecture is ultimately used.

Built to house athletes during the Games, the residential complex was designed with a long-term vision for its role in the city. But after the Olympics, it remained unsold—left vacant and forgotten. Between 2012 and 2019, it became an unintended refuge for hundreds of displaced people, a transformation the media labelled as "Europe’s largest illegal occupation".

The modifications made to these structures after the community’s eviction provoke fundamental questions: does architecture serve its original purpose, or does its true meaning emerge from how people inhabit and redefine it? And when a space is rendered unusable, cut off from any function—what does it become?