PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACES IN NOMADIC HOUSING: A RECENT CASE STUDY IN TURIN

In the multi-ethnic district of Porta Palazzo in Turin a temporary residence with communal facilities primarily designed to accommodate singles and couples without children for a maximum of 18 months was built. The social purpose of this program is to provide an answer to the growing housing needs expressed by the population that is placed in the so-called "gray band", to whom belong people who have no access to social housing but, at the same time, cannot compete on their own in the free market. The design of the Temporary Residence is both a technical and social experimental intervention aiming, through the recovery of the existing degraded property, to transform it into a new living model of Social Housing, from which will benefit not only the residents but also the entire community. The project chose to use the ground floor of the building for the relevant collective spaces: multipurpose area for living room, small library, public meeting and entertainment, launderette, ironing room, storage rooms, technical equipment rooms. The 27 housing units (13 studios and 14 apartments) are composed of a living area with kitchenette, a sleeping area or a bedroom depending on the cut of the accommodation and a bathroom. The apartments are characterized by different equipment, inspired by a common concept, the area of Porta Palazzo: popular market in the centre of a multi-ethnic neighbourhood. Each unit is in fact characterized by a subject (theme), with specific colours in order to define even the smallest detail of the curtains, accessories, furnishings and crockery: the construction site, the marketplace, between past and future and the change. The furnishings were designed using local products and, where possible, abandoned objects converted to other functions and objects made from waste materials, recovered by a furniture firm in collaboration with organizations that deal with mental health and social distress.