This project was completed during a 9-month long study abroad program in Florence, Italy. While most of us felt inclined to revel in the rich history and art of such an ancient and beautiful city, our architecture professors were always encouraging us to imagine the future of Florence. In a city that juggles both the desire to preserve the past and to embrace the future, architects take on a evermore significant and impactful role. As architecture students, we were challenged to take a stance on what we envisioned as the “new Florence” in the form of a new housing complex on the outskirts of town.

PROJECT STATEMENT: It is our aim to introduce a flexible framework of elevated pathways and adaptable “hotspots” that  prioritize the pedestrian, encourage social exchanges, and provide spaces that explore notions of  privacy.  This reworked infrastructure gently trickles into the existing cityscape, enhances neighborhoods,  and evolves with the uncertainties of the future. 

New levels of circulation guide both residents and tourists to an upper pathway of circulation and inhabitance. This elevated  zone is pleasant and lively, allowing people to relax or to rush, either way experiencing the city in new and interesting way.

The hotspot breaks apart the Italian piazza, scatters the pieces, and re-assembles them in the form of compact spaces available to those who  seek them out or stumble upon them.