Research Article

From an unfinished subdivision to a place for an Energy Community in Terrasini, Palermo, Italy

*e-mail: tricarico.aa@outlook.com

Received: 29 November 2022
Accepted: 26 April 2023

Abstract

This thesis consists of a design exercise in which the subject is a residential lot located in Terrasini, Palermo, Italy originally intended for government-funded residential buildings, whose construction has remained partially unfinished. For this lot, which has been in a state of neglect for about ten years, the project envisages the completion of the buildings (maintaining their original residential use) and the redevelopment of the whole district, generating communal spaces and services, in order to create an “Energy Community”. The choice of this theme was dictated by the awareness of the need for a timely action to concretely stem the effects of climate change as the architectural project can play a crucial role in the change in production models that is necessary to achieve true sustainability. For this reason, the intervention on this abandoned, unfinished lot is conceived as a test bed for the “energy community” paradigm, still scarcely known in Italy [1], as a potential engine of renewal and information tool for users about the need to take an active and conscious part in the energy transition. The project takes place within an agreement between the Palermo Department of Architecture and the Municipality of Terrasini, with Arch. Ph.D. Maria Luisa Germana', Full Professor of Architectural Technology at Università di Palermo, serving as scientific director and promoter, which brought to the production of three master's degree theses in Architecture before.