BazziCHIAMA
“ A call to the citizens”
A call is the basis of the development of this new concept, in fact to get to its definition it was necessary a virtual meeting, a call, between the project team and some of the citizens of Piazza Bazzi and Via California. After the proposal of the two possible design solutions, it was essential to deal with those who live in the area, so that the project could be more adapted to their needs. It is necessary to understand to which solution people felt more related in order to take this vision as a starting point for the development of the final concept. The co-design session took place in the afternoon of April 22 and lasted a couple of hours. Before the session,we planned a strategy to be done with the participants. First we sent them an email with a small speech and an introduction video that explain basically relevant information about the project and our concepts. And also we invited them to develop a survey that was composed of several important points that would help to develop the best possible solution. The fact of not being able to carry out the session of Co-design physically on the area, encouraged us to generate a the session taking advantage of the technological tools as much as we can. Monica Righetti, our contact, helped us by reuniting a group of nine people who have experienced the area by working and living there. The group of people was varied, this was a really important consideration in order to have different points of view: the point of view of parents, of those who work there and of those who grew there. As we have mentioned, the participants and us couldn’t interact with each other physically, so we reached to use online platforms to create a virtual interaction. Zoom and MIRO were key tools for the experience, making less perceptible the distance between all of us. The survey, divided into three phases, using a very simple, understandable, intuitive and playful language. The goal was to facilitate the approach and make the experience more fun, to avoid getting the participants bored. The strategy used is based on the following principles: emotion, perception, imagination and interaction. In the first phase, some tools present in the survey were developed to let people express their feelings and know their perception. In the second phase, we attempt to encourage their imagination so that they could create their ideal vision of the place and finally, in the last phase, we were willing to generate a discussion between the participants about possible solutions and strategies to implement in the vision. Our tools and boundary objects in the Co-design session were thought to let different actors interact simultaneously. Working together on the same working table, in our case MIRO, allows to align in short time all the skills of each one towards the same aim. A very important role was given at the time of the discussion, during this moment, various views of the participants emerged strongly. Everyone has deepened the points of interest during the survey. It was a moment of confrontation between people to compare ideas and solutions. From this point, the generation and evolution of the new concept started.
The final concept is a result of the feedback we received during the Co-design session. We tried to integrate the suggestions of the participants and also the advice of Fabrizio Delfini, Councilor of Municipality 6. The co-design session helped us to situate the strategies of “Gate of Creation” concept into a more real scenario and with a different approach. We excluded the concept of “Bazzicare” because the participants during the meeting pointed out that there are already two parks near our area of intervention: Parco Solari e Giardino Vincenzo Muccioli. People would prefer to practise sports in these two green areas rather than a long road surrounded by car traffic. “BazziChiama” is a call that invites citizens of all ages to experience an interesting way of living the space. Our idea is to continue with the concept of “play” as a way of bringing the community together by being in movement, but now taking into account what the community really needs. A place where parents feel safe to leave their children playing, a place where adults and teenagers can also have fun and at the same time relax. Moreover a welcoming place is needed for people who arrive using the metro and who enter in the neighbourhood every day they go to work. The place we imagine attempts to involve everyone who crosses it, attracting their attention. Via California will become a welcoming place, not just a transitional one in which people just “pass by”. The future M4 line will bring more activities in the area, more people outside the neighbourhood and most likely also outside the city. The goal is to make them curious to know the place, to experiment and make them feel welcomed. In Via California people will find a place to meet, rest, wait and relax. The advantage of this portion of space is that the trees already present on the site create large shadows that invite people to stop. The project consist of a colorful and dynamic design starting with a creative portal that is planned to be developed together with the citizens. The structure will become a symbol, there will be modular furniture that follows the ground coloured reticule. Also, to keep all citizens updated on the upcoming events, we thought to put information panels showing the events scheduled in the neighbourhood and also QR codes. We considered essential to implement a cycle path of both directions to reinforce the integration with surroundings. In addition to this integration, we would like to create a green barrier in certain points, with different planters, that protect people from the car traffic on both sides. In the other hand, Piazza Bazzi will become a meeting point for all the citizens thanks to the action of “play” by implementing game installations, ground games and mind games for everybody. In this two spaces community activities will be developed. Various after-school activities will be scheduled for children, such as community snacks and simple street games. They will also be able to do their homework outdoors on the tables that will be installed. Piazza Bazzi will become a support for neighbourhood events such as summer concerts, projections, book sharing and outdoor reading room, evening games that also involve the target of teenagers and young adults. Older people will find a place dedicated to them where they can spend time together. We also considered fundamental to improve the safety of the square to reassure parents who often stop with their children after school hours. To make the place safer we would like to integrate the green spaces already present, with different planters that protect people from cars and we would like to create simple interventions on the crosswalk that help in calming traffic.
Team #5
Mariangela Ippolito, Federica Moioli, Ilaria Pigozzi, Sara Zambotti, Alejandra Zermeño Frias
