Periferie e città contemporanea. Progetti per i quartieri Borgo Ulivia e Zen a Palermo.

Abstract

Suburbs and contemporary city. Projects for the Borgo Ulivia and Zen neighbourhoods in Palermo. Within the general research issue, the study introduces the distinctive features of the in-depth analysis of Pal- ermo focusing on its protagonists, the two neigh- bourhoods of Borgo Ulivia and ZEN (the acronym stands for northern expansion zone). Two innova- tive parts have been examined in the extensive ur- ban context of the two settlements: the experimen- tal centre in Borgo Ulivia, designed by Giuseppe Samonà (coordinator), Antonio Bonafede, Roberto Calandra, Edoardo Caracciolo and ZEN 2 designed by Franco Amoroso, Salvatore Bisogni, Vittorio Gregotti, Hiromichi Matsui and Franco Purini. The two innovative projects establish a different relationship with the compact fabric of the old town centre of Palermo, and develop a positive critique towards the Modern Movement heritage. Alongside the description of the architectural and urban spe- cificity of the experimental centre in Borgo Ulivia and ZEN 2, the research study also examined the two suburbs of the neighbourhoods, respectively South and North of Palermo. After a careful study phase of these two areas, an essential analysis of the archives, including the model and successive redesign, two bigger pictures of the issues were considered, from which six project topics have been drawn for each neighbourhood. Four design groups have been chosen to work on each topic from Italy and abroad. Some of these projects have been “put together” producing boards defined as recompositions. These works have reached the final phase of the research study where the various phases merged giving a larger audience the chance to be informed about the transformations of the neighbourhoods replacing with architectural edges the heavy and fading town planning nets.