Genoa Student Housing
Location: Genoa, Italy
Type: Student Housing Design Competition
Status: Design Completed 2018
Size: 20,000 sf
Collage Genoa is a competition design proposal for University Student Housing in Genoa, Italy. The project site was located in the Piazza Sarzano, one of the largest squares in the historic center of Genoa. The student housing proposal is elevated directly above the piazza creating an open ground floor and a new public green roof, both will be accessible to the Genoa public. The elevated student housing will have sweeping views of the city to the north and the port to south.
Genoa is a city of fragments, disparate elements creating a complex urban mixture. From the old historic center to the sea and port, we see Genoa as an urban collage. Our architecture takes inspiration from this heterogenous character to propose a contextual and contemporary architecture. The project is composed of a series of forms derived from the city of Genoa. The arcade, piazza, sea, port, mountains, bell towers, cloister & fort walls are integrated to make a complex architectural collage, students will live in a building that is a microcosm of the city they inhabit.
The student apartments are organized in a cloister like configuration with each unit opening out onto an open arcade. The open arcade looks down onto the public Piazza below. The student apartments are designed in a simple and open manner to allow freedom of use and flexibility. Each apartment is designed to maximize views by having the walls made of operable sliding glass panels allowing for natural ventilation.
