Resilience through design. Innovative issues in the renovation of Torino Esposizioni

The historical complex of Torino Esposizioni was designed by Ettore Sottsass senior in the ’30s, then modified by Roberto Biscaretti di Ruffia and Pierluigi Nervi in the ’50s before suffering several modifications and being abandoned in the ’80s. The complex is now to be renovated, becoming part of the new Architecture Campus of Politecnico di Torino and, in the main pavilion, hosting the Central Civic Library. In the first part, the essay tells the history of the complex, showing how the various interventions changed its spaces’ usability and resilience, eventually contributing to its abandonment. Then, it investigates the recent history, looking at the multiple failed attempts to restore the building due to several intertwined factors – e.g., its cultural value, its structural behaviour, costs, and the overlapping of inconsistent norms – that affected its actual potential. The second part of the essay describes the renovation project, firstly introducing the strategic division of Politecnico di Torino – the Masterplan Team – and then deepening four innovative issues of the project. The design approach, introducing the architectural outputs in the political and decisional process through the continuous construction of possible scenarios. The way the various stakeholders – e.g., politicians, technical directors of the city, and the Superintendence (the cultural authority that controls and supervises the design of historical buildings – were involved in the process by means of unofficial but performative design documents. The design approach, aimed at tracing down the elements of values, turning them into a system of alive elements defining priorities and opportunities, and using this system to redesign small and big interventions that valorise the building while renovating it, promoting its resilience through design. Lastly, innovation in design actions: the whole intervention is a continuous experimentation of innovative design solutions to make all parts consistent with the renovated legacy building.