Off

OFF is an academic gathering revolving around the recognised state of being off-focus.

Rather than renouncing knowledge, the blurred view encourages creative unease and the embrace of lateral questioning and permanent enquiry.

OFF collects random subjects and artefacts relating to architecture, urbanism and landscape, prividing material for debate.

MEMBERS

Elisa Bacilieri (UniRomaTre) / Federico Broggini (UniFe) / Silvio Cristiano (UniFi) / Fabrizio D’Angelo (UniRomaTre/UniFi) / Alessandro Delli Ponti (UniFe) / Silvia Farano (UniRomaTre) / Federico Marchese (Polito) / Ilaria Maurelli (UniRomaTre) / Emilia Nardella (UniRomaTre) / Sofia Nicoletti Altimari (UniRomaUno) / Giordana Panella (UniRomaTre) / Marco Ranzato (UniRomaTre) / Riccardo Ruggeri (Polito) / Valeria Volpe (UniRomaTre)

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INDEX

DISRUPTION

Monteverde Goes Down / The Construction Site of Imagination / Urban Disruptions as Laboratories for Innovation / Resurgence / The Story of Krater

ENERGY

Positive Energy Districts / Paesaggio Elettrodomestico / Cena Elettrica

SOIL

Asphalt Soils

BIOCLIMATIC

Frigidarium / Alfresco / Spazio Pubblico e Nuove Alleanze / Microclimatic Snapshopts / Ostiense Bioclimatica / Marciapiede Fresco / Borgofresco

CONSTRUCTION SITE

Roma Cantiere Eterno / Trace / Cantieri Istantanei

FOOD

Convivio dell’Abbondanza

URBAN-RURAL

No–City FossileFertile

CARTOGRAPHY

Amphibious Cartoghraphies

SPATIAL JUSTICE

Reframing Spatial Justice / Eccedenza

Roma cantiere eterno
2023-2024 / Master Thesis / Rome, Italy

Authors:Federico Marchese, Emilia Nardella, Sofia Nicoletti Altimari Supervisors: Flavia Rizzuto, Federico Broggini, Marco Ranzato

CONSTRUCTION SITE

Stringent regulations, specialized machinery, and rigorous signage render the construction site an exclusive space. While officially designated as a place for the transformation, renewal, and maintenance of urban and architectural organisms, it is still strictly conceived as a "closed box"—a vacuum where forces and expertise converge, only to impact the city in the form of impenetrable perimeters marked by garish colors and danger symbols. However, in contemporary architectural and urban planning discourse, the construction site is increasingly emerging as a site for experimenting with new forms of coexistence; it is becoming capable of unfolding and hybridizing, serving as a starting point for the creation of a "common ground" for change.

In this regard, the city of Rome presents itself as fertile ground for experimenting with this new conception, yet it progresses slowly. Always the "Eternal City" and an eternal construction site, Rome remains paralyzed in its own metamorphosis. Recently, we have witnessed a city dotted with countless maintenance interventions and new urban projects (1,322 active sites in 2023 alone), driven by national policies and recent investment opportunities for transformative projects, most notably the Jubilee and the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan).

Within the varied Roman territory—stretching from the consolidated historic center to the ever-expanding periphery—different typologies of construction sites can be identified, each having a distinct impact on the urban fabric. On one hand, there are ordinary maintenance interventions occurring daily across the city's streets; these are often characterized by an obsolete approach of pure infrastructural utility, lacking a cohesive design philosophy. These interventions stand in contrast to large-scale planned worksites—projects often funded by major investments like the PNRR or the Jubilee—which today primarily focus on revitalizing existing structures. Indeed, Rome is a "consolidated" city that presents numerous realities requiring not only maintenance but also innovation. Often, however, due to administrative timelines, a lack of in-depth knowledge, and the bureaucratic interruptions familiar to anyone operating in Italy, many intentions remain suspended.

Precisely for this reason, to understand the scope of these interventions, it is necessary to map the factors that accelerate obsolescence and those that contribute to the definition of risks. The identification of "ruptures" and risks is a process of continuous, situated investigation that reinforces the idea that maintenance and repair can be vital sources of learning, variation, and innovation. In this light, the relationship between transformation and maintenance is pushed to its limits to demonstrate that even the latter can be understood as a form of innovation—a constant "morphing" that brings about significant change.