The Area Trend is at the heart of this Italian textile trade show. It came about following a selection process that involved exhibitors who brainstormed and developed themes with the guidance of excellent directors: Stefano Fadda, Milano Unica’s art director, and SGS Architetti Associati, which designed the Area Trend’s layout. The concrete result can be seen in Area Trend, a museum-style exhibit in which the concept and staging demonstrate the incredible research and work behind every single textile sample and unique button. It’s a sensory experience - visual and tactile - that follows a course, as if you were in a gallery, past frames in all sorts of sizes and shapes showcasing textiles and materials in a creative manner. With the Area Trend project, SGS Architetti Associati demonstrates its expansive vision and its ability to provide in-depth consultations spanning the entire time frame of a project.

ABYSS Depth as an inspiration // Everything floats; nothing is motionless in the deep sea populated by animals and plants of evocative consistency and magical colours. Everything here is extraordinary, imaginative and poetic.

NATURE AND ARTIFICE A mosaic of real and artificial geometric landscapes // A bird’s-eye view, an aerial mapping of different areas in the world, showing geometric patterns of natural landscapes with well-defined outlines, cut off by human interventions or rather by urban interruptions and concrete breaks. What is artificial is as real as the natural.

AFRICA PUNK Primitive and natural urban fabric // It is the black magical and sensual Africa, with its amazing sunsets and its big contradictions. A powerful universe in terms of charm and impact on reality.

PSYCHO BIT A hallucinatory trip into arithmetic progression // A theme constructed by two words, “psycho” and “bit” which lead to two matched worlds: the psychedelic, crowded with its blaze of colours and the technological, result of a geometrical mosaic.

 Art Direction: Stefano Fadda, Graphics and Video projects: Francesco Palmisano & Caterina Roppo, Video production: Francesco Briganti, Photo shooting: ERDNA CREATIVE

FEEDING THE CITY. FARM FOR LIFE.
Following the idea of the contest, converting a space that is now a parking in a building that represent the new relationship between people and nature, the project will represent a new point of attraction for the city. Two different elements compose the building: one lite box, heavenly, multifaceted and green identify the vertical farm and one white, with concrete decoration the rem ind a stylized tree for the residential zone. The Vertical Farm Zone is characterized by a spirai ramp with a centrai green cavaedium where will grow the agricultural products. The glass covered allows a direct lighting for plantation and a relationship between inside and outside. The Residential Block is conceive as a multifunctional piace where coexist different activity, space designed for sport, culture and meeting like the public flat roof with a gym area on the last floor. A new plaza on High Line level, and e two commerciai floors, at the base of the building, complete the project, making a connection between High Line and the surrounding area.

2ND PRIZE

Soliera: a proposal for an urban redevelopment project that would improve daily life through increased socialization.  

The Soliera project proposal is framed around two very different urban areas: via Roma, which runs north-south; and the buildings comprising the quadrangle created by via Grandi, via Marconi, via Menotti and via Garibaldi that would be united through the redevelopment of Piazza Sassi. Via Roma, which provides a central, north-south access point to Soliera’s center, stands out from its surroundings for its typical urban design that offers many redevelopment options for stimulating socialization: public gathering areas, spaces for citizen services, meeting points, playgrounds, areas for sitting down or for simply passing through on a relaxing stroll. In contrast, the urban area encompassed by via Marconi, via Grandi, via Menotti and via Garibaldi has an irregular shape. The design for this area of Soliera would involve a further division into quarters. This would offer additional opportunities for integration and interaction resulting in a widening of the existing historical center. The work to be carried out on Piazza Sassi would involve reclaiming the actual piazza, which today is largely unused, and transforming it into a public space ideal for relaxing and socializing, even during its restoration. The transformation would begin with an overhaul of the piazza’s surface, eliminating uneven sections and steps with the goal of creating even walkways on the piazza, including under the arcades, for a completely handicapped-accessible zone. Areas for gathering and socializing are a recurring theme in this project. These spaces are designed for encouraging integration into the community with citizen services and greenery incorporated into an overall design that doesn’t offer just a single center but many. The area between via Mazzini and via Menotti that is currently used as a parking lot is envisioned as the perfect space for street fairs, markets, events and/or shows as part of a larger greenbelt project for the surrounding, mostly residential buildings.

The project is developed around two axes. These are the piazza's main crossing points that serve to divide the area into sections with various offerings. Entering the piazza from the left, the plans call for the creation of a green space, a small park and botanic garden filled with native species. The irregularly shaped area offers paths that accentuate the perspective and depth. A seating area shaded by mast-like awnings partially divides the central section into two "corridors." In addition, there's space in which market stands could be situated. The central section extends all the way to the seaside promenade, the ideal spot for relocating the bar. After undergoing a complete renovation, the bar could become a year-round meeting place. The piazza's layout was planned in such a manner to require those entering the space to choose and follow a specific path that would lead them to discover the piazza's various offerings and views. The materials selected work well together and, above all, with the surroundings: the various pavement types that identify particular routes; the pavement and the outdoor furniture made of light-colored wood that calls to mind seaside wharfs; and the selection of plants that are native to the Mediterranean. The mast-like awnings that shade the seating area also recall the traditional wood buildings on stilts typical of this area. The spaces are further defined through the outdoor furniture and equipment made of exotic wood and weathering steel, the latter used for all the lights.