Abano Terme has always been characterized by a dual identity: on one hand, a residential city; on the other, a tourist hub developed around its thermal waters and the Euganean Hills landscape. The project seeks to reconnect these two souls by enhancing both the urban fabric and the landscape, transforming the Kursaal into a new cultural and social landmark capable of attracting residents, visitors, and tourists alike. 

The regeneration of the building and its gardens aims to restore the Kursaal’s role as a community hub, enriched with mixed-use functions including cultural, recreational, and commercial activities. The gardens are reimagined as spaces for encounters and events, while the new pedestrian axis along Via Jappelli acts as a green corridor linking the Kursaal to the Urban Thermal Park, emphasizing urban continuity and promoting slow, pedestrian and cycling mobility. The project interprets urban regeneration not as a mere architectural restoration, but as an opportunity to redesign a network of public spaces—squares, paths, gardens, and green areas that become true social infrastructure. 

From an architectural perspective, the proposal intertwines different building typologies: linear blocks and residential courtyards coexist with innovative solutions where greenery plays a central role. The buildings engage in dialogue with the urban context and the site’s historical memory, without obstructing the visual perception of the park; instead, they extend its values into the built fabric. The ambition goes beyond the recovery of a single building, aiming instead at the creation of a renewed urban system where squares, pathways, and gardens act as catalysts for social interaction. 

Through this intervention, Abano not only restores an emblematic site but transforms it into a new public space for both the community and its visitors. The proposed regeneration returns to the city an open and inclusive public realm, reconnecting it with its history and landscape while offering a contemporary model of dialogue between architecture, nature, and culture. 

L'articolo Kursaal | Abano Terme proviene da Stefano Boeri Architetti.

The Urban Oasis project redevelops the area through a system of residential spaces, green areas and public functions with the aim of defining a new nucleus for the city.
In particular, the master plan is spread over a triangular lot of 32, 500 m2 and includes five volumes – including a tower and four medium density buildings – developed around a new large public central park, open to all: a series of paths, open spaces and common areas cross the park, enriching the area with a new urban scenario that can be used by all citizens and enhancing the porosity and permeability of the neighborhood.

In the articulation of volumes, the buildings have a variation in heights designed to maximize the entry of direct light into the park. In this way, the project frees up space for both public and private – terraces – designed as recreational and community engagement spaces. The tower, arranged at a focal point with respect to the main axis of the masterplan and the entire neighborhood, becomes a new urban landmark for Bratislava, with a unique view of the city. On the park, commercial spaces and public functions activate the ground floors, enhancing the dialogue between the public space and the residential dimension, with around 1200 apartments characterized by an important housing mix, with different cuts and expected utilities.

The design paid great attention to the specific conditions of the lot, delimited on two sides by high-flow roads. From this point of view, the articulation of the volumes and the design of the facades, highly diversified to underline the dynamism of the neighbourhood, define geometries characterized by irregularities and undulations that interrupt the propagation of sound waves, causing them to disperse and spread rather than propagate directly in the building. The buildings are also characterized by loggias along the facades facing the busiest streets, to reduce the impact of noise pollution within residential spaces; while the balconies enliven the internal facades, overlooking the central park and therefore more protected from the sound and high windiness, which characterizes Bratislava.

In noise reduction strategies, the presence of vegetation is added as a natural element of sound absorption, attenuating noise pollution from the surrounding environment.  In fact, the park connects directly to a green ring that acts as a filter between the residences and the road, along the perimeter of the intervention. In addition to the central park and the external green ring, a further element of implementation of urban forestry is represented precisely by the vegetal cover on green terraces and roofs. In this way, the project seeks to maximize the presence of living nature, implement local biodiversity and optimize the ecosystem benefits of urban greenery in connection with other green spaces in the city.

Due to the predominant role of pedestrian areas and cycle lanes, – within the park, the route winds through green areas and connects all ground floors – the project greatly favors sustainable mobility over car use, to improve the quality of life in the neighborhood.
With the same attention to mitigating the environmental impact of the neighborhood, solar panels occupy an area of approximately 4,600sqm on the roofs of buildings to contribute to the energy needs of the neighborhood through the production of renewable energy. In addition, the project includes urban drainage systems to manage water runoff, through green roofs, permeable pavements and rainwater collection and management basins.

For this reason, Urban Oasis represents an important opportunity for urban renewal to redesign the dynamics of a strategic neighborhood of Bratislava and define a new urban hub, starting from a large public park in the centre.

L'articolo Urban Oasis | Bratislava proviene da Stefano Boeri Architetti.

The project aims to enhance and strengthen the tourist offer within the framework of the Molise Institutional Development Contract (CIS), with the goal of recovering the ‘tratturi’—the ancient transhumance routes, a practice recognized as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2019—and integrating them with the historic hamlets of Molise. 

The tratturi system represents a fragment of history that spans at least seven centuries, accumulating additional stratifications over time, making it one of the most significant monuments in the economic and social history of the Abruzzo-Molise Apennines and the Tavoliere delle Puglie. Through the tratturi, herds migrated across Italian and European territories, creating natural paths characterized by unique biodiversity. The major tratturi, initially traced during migrations of large herds populating Southern Europe from the beginning of the Holocene, were later managed and expanded by the Romans to better connect urban centers. Around these routes, infrastructure such as shepherds’ huts, workshops, taverns, pastoral churches, watering troughs, and stone markers and walls to delimit boundaries began to emerge. By the XV century, the network had become so intricate that it was categorized into tratturi (main routes, approximately 110m wide), tratturelli, and bracci (secondary paths with a narrower section, connecting primary routes). 

The project began with a careful analysis of the Molise territory, characterized by a fragile utilization system both from external and internal perspectives. The region has a population of approximately 300,000 inhabitants, spread across three main cities (Campobasso, Isernia, Termoli), and a diverse array of hamlets nationally recognized for their quality and uniqueness. The network of tratturi paths shows a general fragmentation and a loss of the original identity characteristics: due to land subdivision, abandonment, and artificial interruptions, most Molise tratturi paths appear incomplete or with imperceptible boundaries. 

In this context, the plan envisions the integration of various territorial highlights through the regeneration of 6 tratturi, 2 bracci, and 2 tratturelli connecting Puglia, Abruzzo, and Molise, totaling 325km of restored and accessible routes. The project, developed in collaboration with a consortium of 59 Molise municipalities, involves the restoration and landscape enhancement of the historical paths of tratturi and their characteristic elements. The routes will be equipped with signage, rest points, and stages, ensuring their recognizability and usability, along with resolving historical interferences over time.

Specifically, the intervention aims to connect the paths regionally and nationally – transforming into a system of 2631 hectares of ecological corridors for biodiversity – involving the reconstruction of the routes by delineating the edges with native plant species to make the historical paths recognizable once again. The project also establishes guidelines for management, incorporating new methods of public-private co-management and revitalizing the role of the agricultural operator as a central figure in maintaining the characteristics of the tratturo over time. 

The new paths unfold between 7 starting and ending “gates” (Castel del Giudice, San Pietro Avellana, Montalto, Rionero Sannitico, Sepino, Gambatesa, Santa Croce di Magliano), then branching into 36 intermediate stages, calculated based on the length of the paths and at locations of historical significance to be revitalized, covering 77 historic hamlets. 

The presence of existing secondary trails, which would densify the tratturi network by forming 23 loop paths, enables the integration of the entire constellation of historic hamlets, with the goal of reactivating and reconnecting the territory.  

Identifying homogeneous sections of tratturi landscapes (meadow-pasture, forest, stable meadow, urban, village), the project for the recovery of the tratturi positions itself as an intervention for the regeneration and preservation of present historical-identity elements, the connection between various historic villages through accessible and recognizable pathways and the enhancement of tratturi as ecological corridors and landscapes of biodiversity, alligning with a national urban afforestation perspective in order to reactivate the territory through nature.

Project Numbers: 

325 km of transhumance pathways (tratturi+tratturelli+bracci)
147 km of restored and accessible routes
2631hectares of ecological biodiversity corridors
850 hectares of maintenance for existing forests
25,000 trees preserved
40,500 new trees
263,000 hectares of polyphytic grass carpet
9,600 tons per year of CO2 absorbed
77 involved villages
36 intermediate stages
23 loop paths
49 enhanced historical and identity elements
12 restored taverns
13 restored farmhouses
8 restored springs 

L'articolo Tratturi Masterplan | Molise proviene da Stefano Boeri Architetti.

The Ramagrama Stupa, dated back to the earliest period of the Buddhist tradition, presents itself today as a green mound, crowned by a majestic Bodhi Tree which integrates four distinct plant species, reflecting the unity and harmony of Buddhism’s core teachings.
Several organizations and Buddhist communities have committed themselves to the preservation and sustainable enhancement of the Ramagrama Stupa, with the objective in mind of conserving this site of extraordinary historical and cultural significance, in accordance with the standards set by UNESCO for World Heritage Sites. 

Stefano Boeri Architetti’s masterplan in coherence with the historical and spiritual significance of the ‘stupa’ – the sacred structure housing Buddha’s relics – aims to enhance Ramagrama’s role both as an archaeological site and as a place of prayer, meditation and peace. The project envisions a large Peace Meadow around the sacred Bodhi Tree, a sacred tree of the Buddhist tradition characterised by a high level of biodiversity, and the still intact Stupa of Buddha, maintaining a form of respectful distance to make the archaeological remains accessible for future researches.
In order to enhance the perception of uniqueness of the place, the project proposes a gradual approach to the sacred site, providing a succession of spaces that emphasise the symbolic significance of Ramagrama Stupa, starting from the four monumental portals that identify the directions of access, up to the central hill. 

In line with Stefano Boeri Architetti’s design philosophy of integration between living nature and architecture, the masterplan includes a central element – the ‘Peace Meadow’ – conceived as an open space for contemplation, with a design that recalls the mandala and the symbolic role of the place. The large central Meadow, 600 metres in diameter, is surrounded by a circular system of facilities, cultural spaces and areas for meditation and prayer covered by the Biodiversity Ring Garden. 

The Biodiversity Ring Garden is designed as a slope hosting 80.000 plants of 70 different species, with plant varieties selected from native species to the Terai plain, the birth place of Buddha, and ending in a circular elevated pathway shaded by trees, in order to offer a full overview on Ramagrama Stupa. Considering the local climatic and environmental conditions, special attention was given in the project to the issue of shading the pedestrian paths in order to guarantee adequate use of the space by monks and visitors in all seasons and throughout the day.
In terms of material choices, the new Prayer, Meditation and Peace Center is built using local materials, aiming to reduce environmental impact, recalling indigenous brick production and enhancing the architectural tradition of the site. 

The project for Ramagrama Stupa represents an extraordinary challenge: to create a center for prayer, meditation and peace in one of Buddhism’s holiest sites, respecting the very rich symbolism of Buddhist scriptures, to propose a project that will become one of the most significant on cultural heritage in Nepal. 

L'articolo Ramagrama Stupa | Lumbini proviene da Stefano Boeri Architetti.

The former Zanussi area is the largest of the transformation areas in the city of Conegliano and the only one to be contiguous to the railway station – as well as the closest to the historical city centre – and for these reasons it represents a unique opportunity to create an important new centrality, dedicated to living in a green setting, to services and to urban quality. The area, which in the past was the site of important manufacturing plants that represented the history of the industrial sector in north-eastern Italy, is in fact being redesigned to accommodate services and spaces for living, surrounded by greenery and in dialogue with the historic centre, towards a new urban vitality and with the potential to attract a dynamic and international population.

The project proposal focuses on a number of fundamental objectives, such as the enhancement of the green system and the distribution of services to citizens, together with the energy efficiency of the complex, the de-impermeabilisation of the soil and the integration of new public and collective functions.

The project also envisages an intervention on the mobility system to enhance its urban quality and reduce its environmental impact, promoting the realisation of a car-free suburb, thanks to the increase of bicycle and pedestrian paths reconnecting with the existing network, the construction of structured car parks to increase soil permeability and the promotion of electric mobility through the installation of charging points.

Conegliano’s Green Village thus presents itself as a new neighbourhood in a strategic position in which to experiment the most advanced systems linked to sustainability and low energy consumption, as well as a new urban organism capable of connecting realities and systems that are also very different from one another and that have so far grown in a discontinuous and fragmented manner.

Provided with an environmental infrastructure that feeds the present functions and characterises the urban landscape, the intervention includes a number of devices for reducing consumption and improving energy efficiency, such as a technological network oriented towards capturing the sun’s energy through the positioning of solar receptors on the roofs of buildings, on pedestrian walkways and, if necessary, also integrated in facades a technological network capable of collecting rainwater from roofs; and green façades with the aim of creating a natural bioregulation of internal temperatures, shielding volumes from solar radiation and absorbing CO2 from the urban environment.

The redevelopment of the site, then, through the location of predominantly residential functions, represents an important opportunity to re-interpret the meaning of the historic village, extended to a part of the city until now considered peripheral due to its productive nature and closure with respect to the context, and which, through the Green Village, can propose itself with a design that is both appropriate and innovative for Conegliano.

In fact, the master plan envisages the conversion of the production site as a place of living in which to favour a concentration of density, typical of historic villages, thus containing the occupation of the land with buildings, leaving space for free, green, and public areas – such as a large urban park of about 44,000 square metres that significantly implements the urban and environmental quality of the city of Conegliano.

The circular layout of the buildings provides the new settlement with a strong porosity through pathways, open spaces and common areas that connect the new centre to the surrounding built-up areas, enhancing the neighbouring and surrounding areas through a new urban scenario.

The redevelopment project of the former Zanussi area is therefore a strategic vision, outlining for Conegliano a neighbourhood characterised by a high quality of living, linked to a new meaning of the historical village, to the possibility of living in the green while having a relationship of proximity with the city and the surrounding area, thanks to its proximity to the railway system, and its commercial and entertainment centres.

The numbers of the project

122,741sqm project area
of which
60% permeable area (existing situation 2%)
20% surface area covered by buildings
60,000sqm of new green areas
1,200 new trees
5 new public squares
33,800sqm of car-free areas
1,500m of cycle ring
300,000mc of new buildings
8,500mc of multifunctional public building
900 potential new inhabitants

L'articolo Green Village | Conegliano proviene da Stefano Boeri Architetti.

The project includes an area for the mechanical biological waste treatment plant and the production of secondary solid fuel; a composting plant area for the production of compost and biodegradable pots for floricultural nurseries and a biomethane plant area for the production of liquid methane.

The project also envisages the construction of a renewable energy production field whose total area is estimated at 12,368 square metres, aiming to implement clean energy production in the area and establish a real energy community, from which neighbouring municipalities could benefit.

But the ‘Materials Factory’ is also characterised by an important artistic vocation and the enhancement of the natural system. The territories of the old landfill, characterised by a strong anthropomorphisation of the landscape, in fact see a renaturalisation of the territory – previously waterproofed – to host botanical gardens and spaces for artistic production and expression. A true open-air museum designed to host, through a curatorial project, a selection of permanent and temporary works.

In particular, the intervention identifies a series of thematic areas, with specific functions, united by the common objective of emphasising the importance of designing with circularity and sustainability, with the aim to minimize the consumption of resources and the reuse of materials. The ‘Materials Factory’ is developed around a biomethane extraction centre, designed in order to minimize the visual impact of the structure. A sustainability-oriented approach is adopted on the existing structure, which is covered with a new wooden roof and, on the sloping surfaces facing south, with photovoltaic panels. Together with the timber, the existing structures are transformed through the implementation of a perforated metal mesh cladding, which provides an ideal surface for climbing plants and allows natural light to penetrate the structure, reducing the need for artificial lighting and helping to save energy. The same timber and metal mesh structure also covers the composting plant. Among other project elements, the educational greenhouse, designed as a hub for artists and creative people, includes workshop and laboratory areas, along with common areas where people can work, meet and collaborate.

With the aim of re-naturalising a part of the territory, the project transforms an area of the landfill site into a botanical garden, designed to collect and present a wide selection of plants and botanical environments with the aim of becoming a symbol of hope and renewal, demonstrating the value of green spaces in revitalising and transforming even the most complex places. Inside the park, a labyrinth garden, designed as a maze of paths and vegetation, serves as a refuge and also includes an area reserved for artists, in which to display installations generated by the recovery and reuse of waste itself.

At the highest point of the park is the amphitheatre, a collective meeting place for events, cultural activities and outdoor performances. Finally, the regeneration forest acts as a device for not forgetting the risks of a fragile territory such as Italy’s: designed with a network of accessible paths and walkways, it offers an immersive experience in the forest, reducing planning to a minimum to leave room for the rhythms and evolution of nature. 

The “Materials Factory” presents itself as a unique example of its kind, combining a production phase with one of recovery and reuse of resources, all set in an architectural context aimed at sustainability, integration with art and minimal environmental impact. The project thus stands as an example of an integrated architectural approach, dialoguing with its context, multiplying the functions it hosts and aiming at a minimum consumption of resources, becoming to all intents and purposes a generator of culture and clean energy, a true productive ecosystem.

L'articolo The Materials Factory | Ascoli Piceno proviene da Stefano Boeri Architetti.

Stefano Boeri Architetti‘s proposal for the redevelopment and valorisation of the Valdinievole, commissioned by Fondazione Caript, fits into this context. Starting from the territory’s criticalities and potentialities, the project aims at outlining a common strategic perspective for the area, which would systemise polarities, excellences and landscapes from the physical, social, environmental and energy points of view.

As far as slow and sustainable mobility is concerned, the Valdinievole is traversed by approximately 180 km of paths that cross the hillside villages and lead down to the Padule di Fucecchio, which to date are poorly maintained and irregular. Improvement of the inter-municipal road network and enhancement of the soft mobility networks, with the systemisation of all the paths, are the primary objectives of Stefano Boeri Architetti’s vision, with the aim of creating a 72 km cycling ring that is structured on the existing paths and connects them in a single physical device across the landscape. The cycling ring connects and activates the existing polarities, enhancing all the municipalities of the Valdinievole valley as an alternative element to traditional mobility serving the inhabitants. 

The strengthening of mobility also concerns the railway network, with the duplication of the line (60% of the section is currently on single track) and road mobility, with roads connecting the municipalities, decongesting the main routes to urban centres. 

Geographically, the Valdinievole is characterised by a diversified landscape ranging from the sub-mountainous landscape of the high valleys of the Nievole, Pescia and Pescia di Collodi streams, to the hills and foothills of the northern arc of Montalbano, to the reclaimed and marshy plains around the Padule di Fucecchio.
The terraced hillsides cultivated with olive trees are a garrison for the territory and represent 1/3 of the agricultural landscape, of which 3% is occupied by greenhouses mainly used for floriculture and partly disused. 

Once again, the valorisation of the existing territorial centralities is the primary objective of the vision for the redevelopment of the Valdinievole, with the optimisation of olive terraces as the territory’s excellence, together with the promotion of the Padule di Fucecchio Protected Area, and the productive enhancement of under-utilised sector activities, which can represent an opportunity to rethink the existing system in terms of innovation, sustainability and increased biodiversity. Finally, abandoned agricultural and floricultural land is recovered with a view to de-impermeabilisation of the natural areas. 

The reactivation, enhancement and connection of services and polarities also concerns the infrastructures present in the Tuscan provinces, with the aim of promoting the territory through a digital, innovative and accessible infrastructure. The main interventions concern the reactivation of the Montecatini Terme, the recovery of the Pescia Flower Market – to be redeveloped –, the upgrading of the Pescia hospital, as well as the promotion of a network of sports facilities of supra-local interest (stadiums, golf clubs, tennis clubs, swimming pools, sports halls, etc.) and of technical and professional schools that, put in system with businesses, can activate synergies useful to the territory. 

Stefano Boeri Architetti’s project for the Valdinievole is therefore a device of social connectivity, by networking local services and resources; of physical connectivity, thanks to the creation of a cycle and sustainable infrastructure; and of cultural and technological connectivity, by enhancing the existing heritage and favoring the development of energy communities and the implementation of renewable and sustainable production systems, useful to make the territory self-sufficient in terms of energy production.

The numbers of the Plan

11 municipalities
118,658 inhabitants (2022 data)
72 km of cycle path
55 km of secondary routes
13 local hubs and extended rest areas
10 short stop areas

For more information: https://www.fondazionecaript.it/progetto/masterplan-della-valdinievole/

L'articolo Valdinievole | Masterplan proviene da Stefano Boeri Architetti.

The area, donated in 1989 to the Liliana and Michele Bettoni Foundation, is now in a state of neglect despite its significant historical as well as environmental value.  

At the beginning of the 20th century, the area was in fact used as a base for a hydro aviation school that was active throughout the First World War. In the first half of the 1920s, it was acquired by a Milanese company, ‘Aeroplani Caproni S.A.’, which used it as a factory for the manufacture of seaplanes, thanks to the possibility of using the basin in front of it for the dive tests of ‘mini-submarines’ and for crew training. During the Second World War, the Montecolino area was occupied by German soldiers who built some structures for war purposes: a massive “powder magazine”, some “mad houses”, “sentry boxes” and a “lookout post” located on the highest point of the hill from where it was possible to watch over the lake. Particularly interesting is the construction of a tunnel carved into the rock, which crosses the entire hill and was used as an escape route to the lake and at the same time as an air-raid shelter. At the end of the war, the area was bought by the Bettoni industrialists, who set up the production of textiles, Montecolino S.p.A., which operated until 1983. 

The primary objective of the project is precisely to transform these historical testimonies into new places of cultural production, social aggregation and territorial valorisation, establishing a strong dialogue between the new and the existing, with particular attention to the recovery and reconversion of industrial archaeology sites.

Another key pillar of the intervention is the reduction of soil consumption to implement the environmental and landscape quality of the area. 

The first phase of the project includes the demolition of the superfetation and annexation volumes built since the 1950s, recovering 4,177 square metres of surface area.

In the listed buildings – the Ex Caproni facility, the Villa Basilio and the building at the entrance of the development – the intervention envisages a conservative restoration, while for the warehouses, also thanks to the versatility of the spaces, a regeneration is planned with changes of function aimed at restoring a crucial importance to the peninsula. 

Starting from these assumptions, the project aims to transform the site into a place of excellence open both to the local community and to external users: with this objective, particular attention is given to the theme of accessibility, eliminating architectural barriers and creating new bicycle and pedestrian areas.

As part of the functional conversion, the project envisages a diversified hospitality system, with the reuse of the villa and the construction of new flexible accommodation facilities, in contact with nature and accessible to all types of users. In particular, the regenerated warehouse becomes the Wellness Factory, a spa facility for personal care, with healing gardens and outdoor pools set in the regenerated historical truss structure; the old underground passageway is converted into an Art Gallery, a cultural itinerary that converts into an artistic experience; near the pier, in the western part of the area, there are facilities for sports activities, connected to the local cycling system for outdoor activities and water sports. 

Finally, an important role within the project is given to the revitalisation of the natural, scenic and coastal paths that cross the area bordering the lake, with a reforestation project covering 23,919 square metres. Again with a view to maximising the sustainability of the intervention, the plan is configured as a low-energy impact project, thanks to the efficiency and adaptation of the existing structures and the exploitation of renewable sources for energy production.

Nature, landscape, history, art and culture thus constitute the founding core of the reconversion proposal, respecting the genius loci that over the centuries has seen war shelters, production plants and, finally, contemporary art (with the installation of the artwork The Floating Piers, by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 2016) coexist in a place of extraordinary landscape value. With a character mainly aimed at hospitality, integrating the pre-existent with a mix of new functions for the community, the new intervention sees the regeneration of the “Ex Caproni” area of Montecolino with a focus on the revitalisation of the place and the rediscovery of the landscape and cultural heritage that the area offers.

Project data:
Built 4,051 sqm
Reclaimed 4,177 sqm
Total 8,228 sqm
Intervention surface area 42,000 sqm
Reforestation project 23,919 sqm

L'articolo Former Caproni | Montecolino Area proviene da Stefano Boeri Architetti.

The objective of the new Masterplan is to reconnect the urban fabric with a currently underutilised area, covering over 50.000 sqm, to be transformed into a new core of collective centrality. 

In particular, the regeneration area is located at the heart of Sarzana, about 200 metres from the historic centre, bordered on the southern side by the disused railway terminal and on the northern side by the former Municipal Market, now temporarily used as a sports hall for the city’s track hockey team.

If the southern part of the area of intervention sees the strong presence of the railway axis as an urban caesura, on the eastern front the most interesting element is a historical building parallel to the tracks, originally used by the station and today underutilised. 

Similarly, around the area of intervention a series of other public buildings are situated, such as the XXI Luglio school, the Ex Ospedale San Bartolomeo and Villa Ollandini, which could become the flywheel of a widespread regeneration of the Sarzana centre. 

Starting therefore from an existing context to be valorised, the project sets as its primary objectives the regeneration of the area, located in a strategic part of the city, with the reactivation of the former market as a new centrality and urban square, together with the settlement of new public functions and the enhancement of slow mobility. In this regard, the Masterplan envisages a new interchange pole for sustainable mobility, with the addition of a bike-sharing and car-sharing station linked to the railway and bus station.

As a first step the project scenario foresees the relocation of functions related to sport, an element of identity for the city, since the structure currently used as a ‘hall’ for hockey is currently limited in capacity and size. The construction, on the opposite side of the railway, of a new building suitable for accommodating 1.200 spectators – as well as changing rooms, a medical room, warehouses and all the necessary functions – also involves the creation of a public square in front of it, obtained by reducing the footprint of the building. 

A second phase envisages the reactivation of the existing public buildings, re-installing the Municipal Market in the historic building and reconverting the abandoned terminal into a bus terminal, a central urban hub for students from the city and neighbouring municipalities. Finally, the public building in the eastern area is rehabilitated to be open to the community: public and aggregation activities, such as coworking spaces or new local associations, can be housed inside.

Regarding the public space, two new urban squares – covering a total of over 3.500 sqm – are redeveloped by the intervention, in correspondence with the new arena and the market. In addition, 8.000 sqm of new green areas are included, resulting from a major depaving of the area, which is currently strongly characterised by artificial and 90% impermeable soil. This significant increase in urban greenery represents a fundamental element in defining the character of the new master plan: green areas, in fact, occupy 25% of the total surface of the intervention, creating important filter belts along the railway line, as well as more liveable public spaces.

Another central aspect of the new masterplan is defined by mobility, since road flows are optimised and the road system in the market area is reconfigured, also through the redevelopment of the car parks with draining surfaces. With this in mind, an elevated footbridge is also designed to cross the tracks, aiming to connect public functions, overcoming the obstacle of the railway and creating a continuous space for citizens, defined by new paths for widespread pedestrian circulation.

Finally, special attention is paid to the energy issue, for which the upgraded buildings play a fundamental role as collectors of renewable energy: the intervention envisages, in fact, the insertion of 2.000 sqm of photovoltaic surface on the roof – equal to about 200 kwp of potential energy production – increasing the contribution of clean energy in the area, which thus stands as a new and essential centrality of Sarzana.

The numbers of the project:

54.600 sqm area to be redeveloped
13.500 sqm new and redeveloped public spaces
3.600 sqm new market square
3.700 sqm of new sports hall square
8.000 sqm new green areas
4 new public functions
3.200 sqm new sports hall
2.000 sqm photovoltaic surface area on roofs
200 kwp potential energy production

L'articolo Masterplan | Sarzana proviene da Stefano Boeri Architetti.