San Domenico 2030

“Abitare Udine. Comunità al plurale” is the project for the redevelopment and urban regeneration of the San Domenico public residential complex, which has obtained funding as part of the PINQUA program.

The project involves 16 buildings, including 15 municipal buildings and one owned by Ater (the Regional Housing Agency), comprising a total of 164 housing units. It is part of the “National Innovative Program for Housing Quality” created by the government to reduce housing and urban settlement discomfort, with a particular focus on peripheral areas, and to improve the quality of living.

The outcome of the demolition and reconstruction involves a new settlement principle different from the past. The buildings serve as defining elements along Via della Faula and configure a hierarchy that relates in different ways to the sequence of open spaces along the western edge of the neighborhood. From north to south, the new design includes the placement of two building bodies along the edge of the new park resulting from the demolition of existing buildings. Subsequently, a C-shaped open courtyard is positioned with its short side along Via delle Faula, and with two buildings of different lengths facing inward into the neighborhood. Following this, a single building defines an open space intended for neighborhood gardens overlooking the community of Piergiorgio. Finally, to the south, an open block defines the edge of the neighborhood.

All the buildings, by aligning themselves along the street, define its urban character and contribute to “screening” the rear of the neighborhood intended for outdoor public activities. The functionally differentiated treatment of the ground floor is defined by a base with a geometry different from the upper floors. Each building has a kind of “bastion” on the ground floor that serves to define a realm of privacy and delineate the character of the residential functions on the ground floor.

At the axis of Viale Resistenza, a pedestrian axis will extend into the neighborhood from east to west, reaching Via della Faula. On the north side, the new neighborhood garden will overlook it, while on the south side, a sequence of services and commercial spaces will be housed within the new neighborhood. This east-west axis is the fundamental connecting element with the existing social housing neighborhood to the west. The new axis of commerce and services will, therefore, be a reference point for a much larger area than the new San Domenico neighborhood.

As with the existing buildings, the new development also consists of a maximum of 3 above-ground floors, and condominiums are designed to accommodate a limited number of families to simplify management.

The studio is currently engaged in the final design of Block B of the masterplan, in collaboration with Politecnica and Cooprogetti.