GONGO Tema, luogo e progetto. Studio Due 2024 2025

This essay explores the architectural and geopolitical implications of the "mobile border" within the cross-border conurbation of Gorizia and Nova Gorica. The investigation focuses on the ex-railway yard of the Transalpina station, a linear infrastructural void transformed into an experimental laboratory for urban research. Timed with the GO!2025 European Capital of Culture nomination, the project treats architectural design as a strategic tool for morphological stitching rather than a fixed solution. Seven inter-university laboratories worked autonomously, identifying specific thresholds and fragments as foundational acts to activate new forms of urbanity. The research functions as a critical observatory on architectural pedagogy, emphasizing the transmissibility of methods and civil responsibility. The resulting design "bestiary" showcases a variety of positions, ranging from collective housing to civic systems and temporary pavilions. Physical models and choral maquettes served as "material diaries" to verify the relationship between new interventions and the stratified urban soil. Methodological diversity is embraced as a scientific resource, promoting an "exercise of difference" across the four involved Italian universities. Ultimately, the work aims to construct a shared urbanity where the border becomes a common ground for cultural and social interaction.