The POLITO Studio project, a collaboration between the Polytechnic University of Turin and the Association of Architects to promote internationalization, has reached a new milestone. A part of the POLITO Studio Latin America team, a two-year training course to approach the Latin American market, won the “EduShift – The makeshift school design challenge” competition.
In uncomfortable situations, how can school spaces be made safe and functional?
This is the question behind the EduShift competition, whose main objective is to design a temporary school in Bogota’s Suba district that is multifunctional and flexible. Participants were asked to innovate the design of the school space to make it more open and flexible, along the lines of modularity, rebuildability, and accessibility.
In fact, the team’s proposal, titled “Educational Strength: Building a Resilient School for the Future,” starts from a new perspective on the role of schools, seen as promoters of social relationships within communities and places in which to acquire life skills that help counter and prevent poverty, disease and other common problems in contexts like Colombia.
The proposed school aims to positively affect its students but also the community by providing services and new opportunities for exchange and relationships. Indeed, citizen involvement from participation in the planning and design of school buildings to the organization of social activities in shared spaces such as the library and auditorium is planned.
In addition, the project explores building systems aligned with four key concepts: assemblable, recyclable, connectable, and modular. Characteristics aimed at developing a system that can be replicable but more importantly easily replaced and exchanged by the community itself in case of damage.
The professionals worked together with Lorenzo Savio, Mónica Muñoz Veloza and Frank Ramirez of the Polytechnic University of Turin and a team of researchers from the Universidad Javeriana de Cali (Sasha Vanessa Londoño Venegas, Andres Alejandro Quintana Vargas, Carolina Guardiola Lince, Jan Carlos Revelo).
POLITO Studio Latin America professionals are:
Maria Lucilla Flamini
Massimiliano Facciolo, Michele Lacancellera – Studio Facciolo
Matteo Novarino, Magdalena Jendras – novarinojendras studio
Salvatore Risafi – AOT | Architecture of Things
Thus, this is another achievement that stems 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 Javeriana de Cali, who were a fundamental contribution to the project.
Congratulations to all participants for their achievement!
