The 3 winning projects of the Ideas Competition supported by the San Zeno Foundation of Sandro Veronesi, Patron of the Oniverse Group, and by the Church of Verona to redevelop the former Seminary of San Massimo have been revealed. The intent is to redevelop an important abandoned area of the city, but also to promote virtuous models for putting inclusive, sustainable and socially useful ideas into circulation
The awards ceremony for the Ideas Contest, a contest created to enhance the territory supported by the San Zeno Foundation of Sandro Veronesi, histrionic Patron of the Oniverse Group, and by the Veronese Church. The target? Giving new life to the former San Massimo seminary, an imposing abandoned area on the outskirts of the Venetian capital, once a place of vocation for seminarians, which offered residence to over 700 people including students, professors, educators and service staff. A small village dedicated to the growth and education of young people to accompany them on the path of choice to become priests which has been abandoned over time.
The tender for the valorisation of the ecclesiastical heritage of the ancient Monastery has aroused the interest not only of the local and territorial community, but also internationally: 75 proposals arrived from all over the world, which saw a triptych of projects excel. The initial request included some constraints in the creation of what, it is hoped, will become a new space for both spiritual and community meetings, starting from the principle of obviously keeping the ecclesiastical part unchanged as a place of faith and meditation and not veering towards proposals of commercial nature. The essential focuses: environmentthat is, considering more open spaces and less land consumption, generations, with proposals aimed at improving the relationship between the different age groups, welcoming both the elderly and young people, and migrations, with the aim of transforming those who come from far away not only into a workforce, but also into a precious resource to be put back into circulation in society.
3 ideas to build a new future
The first prize was won by the proposal Extra seminar, a Pool landscape project together with architects Ludovico Centis, Ilaria Forti, Francesco Laserpe and Federico Vascotto. What struck the jury was the careful design of the landscaping, placed in the foreground above all thanks to the design of many open spaces, imagined as a large garden-oasis, designed to host activities related to the care and cultivation of the land, as well as innovative educational center linked to agriculture and environmental issues. Presentation was awarded second place SAN MASSIMO DISTRICT by Oasi architects studio associate together with Almo collegiate Borromeo, who imagined a neighborhood redeveloped from the bottom up with the model of a small rural center that also becomes a cultural hub and actively experienced by a residential community. Third prize was awarded to the proposal SEMIinary by the Bunch architecture studio, focused on a progressive redevelopment aimed at involving young migrants and encouraging virtuous encounters between beneficiaries and the host community.
