Type of project: Urbanism Project: Stazione Futuro Italia Location: Palermo, Italy Status: consulting Handing over date of project: 2011 Built up area: 1500-2000m² Project team: N. Toribio, C. Zappulla with M. Tepedino

Start from the bottom is a strategy to revive the existing built environment for harnessing the reappropriation of the street as a social space, and domestic production.

In Palermo, a few blocks from the old town, away from the shopping centers and markets, the lower floors are abandoned and have no sale value. In our project, in our view, the street becomes a pedestrian and the city will finance the renovation of the ground floor for those who want to convert buildings into offices and shops. In addition, public space can be occupied in part by the modules that increase the surface area of the premises and patios that bring light to the underground floors.

The modernization of the road and the lower floors would attract more investments in buildings and thus encourage the repopulation of the area. Start from the bottom is a pilot project that can be accomplished in other city streets.