DESIS Polimi Projects
Coltivando
COLTIVANDO
The convivial garden at the Politecnico di Milano
Coltivando is a design experiment conceived within the framework of two research programmes run by POLIMI-DESIS Lab, a member of the DESIS Network, at the Politecnico di Milano Design Department. The first programme – ‘Human Cities, reclaiming public spaces’ (2010-2012) – worked on the regeneration of public spaces for urban communities. The second – ‘Feeding Milan, energies for change’ (2010-ongoing) – aims to shorten the food chain in the Milanese region.
Coltivando as a project brings together the concerns of both of these programmes: it is situated in the public university space of the Politecnico di Milano’s Bovisa campus, allowing the local community to discover a hidden public place; and helps people of the community to grow up their own food. It adds to the social and environmental value of the campus and the local community.
Coltivando is a where people meet, experiment, cultivate crops, and share their skills and ideas. Coltivando uses innovative service and spatial design knowledge and community consultation processes and is a design research project that is documented throughout its entire process. It is also a social as well as an educational experiment. People from the same neighbourhood yet strangers to one another and design students from the different disciplines of service and spatial design are brought together.
