Politecnico di Torino spotlights eight student architecture projects

Dezeen School Shows: a bike path which repurposes a railway to celebrate local food supply chains is included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Politecnico di Torino.

Also included is a project which aims to support students in the textile industry and a redevelopment project which aims to unite areas of Nanjing, China.

Politecnico di Torino

Institution: Politecnico di Torino
School: Department of Architecture and Design
Course:Architecture Construction City, Architecture for Heritage and Architecture for Sustainability
Tutors: Alessandro Armando, Antonio Di Campli, Riccardo Rudiero, Paola Palmero, Stefano Fantucci, Roberto Dini, Francesca Thiebat, Valentina Serra, Valerio Roberto, Maria Lo Verso, Nicola Marzot, Marco Caprani, Silvia Lanteri, Valeria Minucciani, Lorenzo Savio, Marco Trisciuoglio, Marta Carla Bottero, Daniele Campobenedetto, Fabio Favoino and Carlo Micono

School statement:

"Can academic projects explore new directions and contribute to public discourse on global and local issues?

"The 2024 Politecnico di Torino Students Award aimed to address these questions, showcasing how architectural research, training and experimentation can be integrated into a school curriculum.

"Politecnico di Torino is ranked among the top 10 architecture schools in Europe (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024 – Architecture and Built Environment).

"With over 3,000 students, the Department of Architecture and Design offers a Bachelor's degree in Architecture and three Master's programs – Architecture for Sustainability, Architecture Construction City and Architecture for Heritage – all featuring dedicated English tracks.

"The Department offers also two Bachelor's and one Master's programmes in design.

"The Master's students project selection process featured insights from Peggy Deamer (Yale University), Simona Della Rocca (BDR bureau, emerging finalist EU Mies Award 2022), Michele Bonino, Roberto Giordano and Daniele Campobenedetto.

"All awarded projects, along with a curated selection of works from the department courses and studios, are available on the departmental platform telearchitettura.polito.it."

A complex urban project in Skopje, North Macedonia (Winner) by Greta Simonato, Silvia Rolando and Alice Morena

"This urban project was developed for the city of Skopje, North Macedonia, a city marked by its fragmented urban fabric that reveals a complex mix of cultures, tensions and contrasts between diverse ways of living.

"The strategy centres on preserving this complexity by identifying 'dark spaces' within the urban landscape—areas where people can retreat, connect or re-engage with nature.

"Through architectural design, the project supports diverse living styles, utilising open spaces, pathways, stairways and balconies to create varying levels of privacy and interaction within residential environments."

Students: Greta Simonato, Silvia Rolando and Alice Morena
Course: Architecture and urban space
Tutors: Alessandro Armando and Antonio Di Campli

Restoration of East attic of Valentino Castle, Torino, Italy (Winner) by Kosar Mohammadi, Shadi Masihi Pour, Lucie Halna and Marie Schifano

"This project reimagines the east attic with inspiration drawn from Leopardi's L'Infinito.

"We see the castle as a poetic boundary – a hedge dividing river and city, past and present – so the aim of the project was to create an intervention that respects this profound metaphor.

"Through detailed study and innovative design, structural challenges have become creative opportunities.

"Concealed spaces take on new life, with glass boxes and bridges animating forgotten areas.

"In harmony with the castle's literary-inspired interiors, our design merges architecture and poetry, transforming the false façade into Leopardi's symbolic hedge."

Students: Kosar Mohammadi, Shadi Masihi Pour, Lucie Halna and Marie Schifano
Course: Restoration Project
Tutors: Riccardo Rudiero, Paola Palmero and Stefano Fantucci

Former railway station of Morgex, Italy (Winner) by Agricola Giovanni, Di Mario Chiara, Miletti Vincenza and Zabelina Anastasiia

"This design strategy reimagines the historic Valdigne railway as a bike path, inviting tourists to explore the region's rich identity through its traditional gastronomic products.

"MetroZERO, situated on the site of the former station, serves as an architectural homage to the entire food supply chain, from production to tasting.

"The FoodHUB features a reinterpretation of the traditional gabled roof, using translucent polycarbonate panels with phase change material (PCM) and local wood for structural support.

"This combination of tradition, identity and innovation complements the alpine landscape, creating a luminous, welcoming space with low energy needs."

Students: Agricola Giovanni, Di Mario Chiara, Miletti Vincenza and Zabelina Anastasiia
Course: Green building design B
Tutors: Roberto Dini, Francesca Thiebat, Valentina Serra and Valerio Roberto Maria Lo Verso

Urban transformation for the area of former Vanchiglia railway yard, Torino, Italy (Winner) by Laura Larocca, Antonio Mario Nicoletti and Iliyan Stoykov

"The former Scalo Vanchiglia district in Turin is a dynamic urban landscape, blending residential and industrial activities interspersed with vacant lots and bounded by the Monumental Cemetery.

"This project begins with a close examination of the surrounding urban fabric, identifying recurring typologies and patterns.

"Historical maps, archival research and respect for local regulations form the foundational framework for the design.

"Through these layers, the significance of the former railway yard is reasserted on the site, marked by a distinct bracketed strip.

"This strip, with its varied and sequential design elements, mirrors the paratactical structure of prose, weaving new meaning into the area."

Students: Laura Larocca, Antonio Mario Nicoletti and Iliyan Stoykov
Course: Architecture and computational design
Tutors: Nicola Marzot and Marco Caprani

Design of new tourist settlement systems in the Sentina Park Natural Reserve in San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy (Citation) by Lorenzo Trevisan, Lorenzo Molino, Tommaso Abatelillo and Federica Racciu

"Linear City – a term long used to describe the sprawling conurbation along the upper Adriatic coast – reflects an ecosystem deeply entwined with tourism yet now in need of recalibration.

"This project explores alternative forms of tourism within spaces traditionally overlooked, far removed from profit-driven approaches.

"The Sentina Reserve in San Benedetto del Tronto offers a fertile landscape for rural-based scenarios, reimagining residual spaces created by existing infrastructures.

"Using reversible and incremental materials and practices, the design envisions sustainable interventions that harmonise with the natural environment while encouraging a renewed appreciation of the region's unique landscape."

Students: Lorenzo Trevisan, Lorenzo Molino, Tommaso Abatelillo and Federica Racciu
Course: Architecture and Urban Space
Tutors: Alessandro Armando and Antonio Di Campli

Refurbishment of a school with an integration of a civic centre in Turin, Italy (Citation) by Doğa Tıraş, Hatice Büşra Öztürk and Klea Kapllani

"This project addresses the need for better integration between educational spaces and public interaction, both within and outside the school building.

"To achieve this, the project reconfigured the building's section by creating a continuous circulation element that unifies the spaces.

"This element facilitates movement throughout the building and incorporates educational spaces and gathering areas at key points through varied dimensions.

"Additionally, the façade design enhances these architectural features, highlighting different space types and functions while meeting thermal comfort standards.

"Daylighting, solar load, heat transfer and cross-ventilation were carefully calculated to ensure optimal environmental performance in every classroom."

Students: Doğa Tıraş, Hatice Büşra Öztürk and Klea Kapllani
Course: Green Building Design B
Tutors: Daniele Campobenedetto, Fabio Favoino and Carlo Micono

A New Productive Chain of Innovation as a Model for the Conversion and Regeneration of a Former Textile Factory in the Biella Region, Italy (Citation) by Davide De Vito, Ilenia Marchitelli and Alessandro Comina

"The Re-Create to Innovate project, based in Biella, Piedmont, contributes to the region's expanding innovation landscape by fostering collaboration between textile-sector start-ups and students.

"Centred around a dialogue with established local enterprises, the project introduces a new, sustainable production chain of innovation that serves as a model for converting and regenerating an old textile factory.

"By blending traditional industry expertise with forward-thinking, eco-conscious practices, Re-Create to Innovate aims to revitalise the Biella area, generating economic and social growth through a balanced mix of heritage and innovation."

Students: Davide De Vito, Ilenia Marchitelli and Alessandro Comina
Course: Sustainable and Inclusive Living Project
Tutors: Silvia Lanteri, Valeria Minucciani and Lorenzo Savio

Urban regeneration, urban morphology and contemporary settlement patterns in Nanjing, China (Citation) by Ginevra Bazzica and Mohuai Hu

"The Inter-Stitium: Standing in Between envisions a redevelopment project that seeks to unify two distinct urban fabrics of Nanjing, a city where tradition and progress coexist uniquely.

"The term interstitium – a fluid-filled space between structural boundaries – reflects the project's goal of bridging the divide between Nanjing's old and new urban landscapes.

"Aerial views reveal a noticeable gap where the orientations of existing buildings diverge, creating an unlinked void between them.

"By introducing longitudinal, linear buildings, the design establishes a continuous flow across the site, bringing cohesion to an area previously marked by discontinuity."

Students: Ginevra Bazzica and Mohuai Hu
Course: Architecture and urban economics
Tutors: Marco Trisciuoglio and Marta Carla Bottero

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Politecnico di Torino. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.