A Post Occupancy Survey, 50 Years After
© Lorenzo Pentassuglia
Under a bright blue sky and a mild breeze blowing from the sea Trieste is hosting a 2 weeks public event on Architecture.
Unique in its approach, trying to communicate to a broad range of public the civil value of architecture and urban design: professionals, artists, cultural operators, citizens, public administrators and all kind of media are involved in the fully (and funny) packed programme you can browse in the official Blog
I was invited to moderate on Saturday 31st of July the afternoon conversation between Silvano Tintori and Luciano Semerani on a very interesting public housing project they worked on about 50 years ago: Borgo San Sergio.
You can read the report on the afternoon on this webpage and an interview that Silvano Tintori gave on that occasion here.
Here I like to post a few pictures I’ve taken during a walk with Silvano at Borgo San Sergio on Sunday morning, before our trip back to Milano.
I’m sorry for the bad quality of the pictures – I’m not really a photographer and the August sun at noon didn’t make it easier. What I think they can show is the sense of ownership the people have towards this neighborhood, their flats, their common parts and gardens.
Although maintenance is rather poor – the facade have probably never been painted since the time it was built – fortunately the plaster is strong and the washed cement effect gives a pleasant patina to the buildings, with a hint of design thanks to the window frames, the cantilever beams and other thoughtful architectural details.
Every square centimeter of the space between buildings is owned and marked by differentiated vegetation and destination: flowered bushes, sitting benches, tomato trees, temporary parking… For these reasons, and not just because it was designed by famous architects BBPR, I would say this is a nice place to live.
Well Designed and Built 