Alpine Periscope

One of the most panoramic balconies in the area of Castione della Presolana, 40km north of Bergamo, was used to accommodate for the summer months the children of the employees of the steel factory Dalmine. In-between pine trees and pasture land, an area of 6 ha was devoted to children's education and play. The valley of mills of Valseriana hidden between the pine forest, several tributaries of the river Borzo, and the mountain range of Orobie has a strong industrial history of textile factories. Wool and dairy were the main products produced in the area and nowadays the decline of these activities is visible. The colony of Dalmine was not home to industrial activity but an essential by-product, which is abandoned since 1940 and nowadays is longing for a new future.

The students will be asked to work on multiple scales to identify the characteristics, qualities, frictions, and challenges of the valley of Valseriana and later to zoom-in and transform the landscape which surrounds the camp. How can we design with landscape processes in an area that seems to have been taken over by nature? Which is the best strategy to engage with the industrial heritage and the dynamics of landscapes?