A group of students of the Undergraduate Degree in Design and Innovation participates in the design and construction of a mountain shelter in the Alps

A group of six 2 and 3-year students of the Undergraduate Degree in Design and Innovation, tutored by teacher Paolo Sustersic, has participated in “Ob-serving the Landscapes”, a project organised by Politecnico di Torino, Elisava and Strate École de Design, with the collaboration of the cultural association Plug-In, within the framework of an Erasmus+ BIP (Blended Intensive Programme).

The activity, which began in March 2024, consisted of a preliminary phase of study of the territory and co-design of a mountain shelter located at an altitude of 1450 m in the Ligurian Alps, in the municipality of Ormea, Piedmont, and an on-site phase of the project, under the direction and technical coordination of the GRRIZ study, who has developed the implementation project, and several tutors from the three schools.

From 11 to 18 May, the 34 students and 10 teachers who participated in the BIP carried out two projects: the construction of the “Tetto al Biranco” (Shelter in Biranco) shelter, located at a panoramic point of the Balconata di Ormea, which will serve as a viewpoint, protection from the outdoors and a place of rest for hikers; the organization, design and assembly of the exhibition “Qui non c’è il mare” (Here there is no sea) which interprets through photography the characteristics of the territory of Ormea.

The construction of the shelter has provided the students with direct knowledge of all the phases of ideation, preparation and assembly of a micro-architecture made of wood and with a vocation of service to a local community. The exhibition, which also communicates the new presence of the shelter in the territory and will remain open until September 2024, has been set up in an old railway depot in the centre of Ormea. The space, also conditioned during the BIP, will remain at the disposal of the municipality for new cultural initiatives thanks to some facilities with a vocation of permanence designed and made by the participants.