Regenerating Bologna: a design journey through heritage, landscape, and community engagement

This self-reflective portfolio thesis explores the transformation of heritage sites in Bologna through three interconnected projects: the Navile Area, Dumbo, and Osservanza. The primary aim of the projects is to preserve the unique identity of cultural heritage while developing functional and sustainable solutions that suit the dynamics of contemporary urban life. The Navile Area project reimagines public cultivation gardens into private, organized plots, complemented by a high-tech research facility for modern agriculture. The Dumbo project adapts a historically significant building into a vibrant food market and restaurant, maintaining the highest level of heritage protection. Finally, the Osservanza project converts a historic structure into classrooms for older adults, fostering digital inclusion and lifelong learning. The thesis highlights the integration of temporary, flexible, and reversible architecture as a unifying design approach across the projects, ensuring adaptability and respect for the original structures. Furthermore, it examines the functional and thematic connections between the sites, such as the relationship between Navile’s agricultural production and Dumbo’s marketplace. This thesis brings together critical analysis, heritage value, and innovative design to reveal the relationship between tradition and modernity, as well as how the design approach has evolved.