Moving from learning to doing: an educational experience of temporary tactical action

The paper describes an educational experience of tactical urbanism in the city of Torino (Italy) developed in the framework of a students’ team called AUT (Autocostruzione Urbanismo Tattico), found at the Politecnico di Torino. AUT is a “place” to build architecture in a real environment through hands-on activities carried out by the students in cooperation with academic tutors and by involving a network of external stakeholders. The goals of the design-and-build activity are both immaterial and material: to practice a learning by doing approach and to experiment new solutions for the transformation of fragile urban spaces with low-cost but high-impact actions, through ephemeral and temporary architectures. In this context, AUT participated and won a public call held by the municipality of Torino to activate underused green areas by organizing social and cultural events, joining a network of local actors such as associations, artists and activists. The opportunity was given by the reopening of an historical social hub in the main urban park of the city that has been abandoned for years, creating a void in the urban tissue. By organizing a construction workshop with students and professionals, AUT built a site-specific micro-architecture - with function of physical and social requalification - to host different inclusive events (concerts, public hearings and meetings, talks, …) creating a connection between the public space and its inhabitants. This experience let the students take full responsibility of the process and learn how to realize and manage a small-scale project, how to harmonize architecture experimentation with technical aspects, being able to respond to real needs, to respect urban plans, transforming an exercise of design into a tactical civic action. By funding students’ initiatives, Architecture Schools can have a proactive role in civic involvement, improving the quality of urban life as well as opening new opportunities to upgrade competences and to connect universities, professionals and communities.