New milestone for POLITO Studio, a project of the Polytechnic University of Turin and the Association of Architects to boost internationalization: part of the team of POLITO Studio Latin America, the two-year training course that guides to the Latin American market, has won the competition “Beneath – Challenge to design an underground social stop”.
The POLITO Studio Latin America professionals are:
Barbara Gasparini di Gaetano
Bruno Maiolo, Edmundo Chidiac, Edoardo Bruno, Martina Boccuzzi, Ottavio Petrolito, Marco Cubito, Stefano Cambursano – 2MIX Architetti
Mara Mercurio
Marta Grignani, Cara Geldenhuys, Andrea Alessio – PlaC
Urszula Grodzicka – UG Architettura
The professionals worked alongside Lorenzo Savio, Mónica Muñoz Veloza, and Frank Ramirez of the Polytechnic University of Turin and a team of researchers from the Universidad de La Salle in Bogotá (Carlos Andrés Ramírez Aranguren, Camilo Andrés Cifuentes Quin, Freddy Rolando Díaz Díaz, Daniel Alejandro Blanco Díaz, Nicolás Mariño Fuentes, Jonathan Stick Ruiz Barrera). This is therefore another achievement resulting from the close collaboration between registered professionals and researchers from the Polytechnic University of Turin: the participants established a virtuous relationship and had the opportunity to work closely with Colombian professionals from the Universidad de La Salle in Bogota, who were key contributors to the project.
How can the distribution pattern of building forms in the city be changed to ensure the comfort of occupants and pedestrians?
This is the question of the Beneath competition, whose main objective is to design a public space underground, where multiple functions can be accommodated on different levels of the same space. Plaza de San Victorino in Bogotá (Colombia) is the place to be designed, located in the center of the city in the Vera Cruz neighborhood, which is full of commercial activity. At the center of the plaza is the sculpture “La Mariposa” by Edgar Negret, the starting point of the POLITO Studio team’s project.
In fact, the team’s proposal, titled “Roots and Reverie. Cultivating Community”, starts from the idea that sculpture is an example of successful integration into its space. Indeed, drawing inspiration from the surrounding urban landscape, the sculpture attracts attention through its size and dynamic interaction with pedestrians.
However, the current perception of the sculpture is disrupted by an excess of visual stimuli, detracting from its function as a common gathering space and an emblem of local identity. Therefore, the goal of the project is to create a place conducive to pausing, offering respite from the incessant sensory overload of the surrounding environment.
Congratulations to all participants for their achievement!
