Pamphlet 06. CAMPAGNUZZA: BETWEEN THE VILLAGE AND THE JUNGLE. Vulnerabilities and inclusive spaces in temporary and collective housing

The exhibition presents 10 housing models and 10 game boxes that interpret, through an exercise of serio ludere, the project area of Campagnuzza in Gorizia. This area is located between the Villaggio dell’Esule—a settlement built in the post-war period to house Istrian-Dalmatian refugees—and the wooded area along the banks of the Isonzo River. At certain times, migrants traveling along the Balkan route have camped along the riverbank, despite being officially accommodated in various reception centers in the area. Many preferred to spend time outdoors here, freely cooking their traditional meals. For this reason, the area has been referred to as the “Jungle of Gorizia,” drawing a parallel with the more well-known Jungle of Calais. Campagnuzza also bears traces of six houses originally built by the military as emergency shelters for Istrian-Dalmatian exiles, which were later demolished. Within the same plot, there is now an apartment building managed by a social cooperative, providing emergency housing and pathways toward independent living for young adults with disabilities. This small area—situated between the Villaggio and the Jungle—presents an exceptional concentration of diverse forms of habitation, both temporary and permanent. Some forms of dwelling were initially intended as transitory but later became stabilized. It has housed individuals commonly defined, for various reasons, as vulnerable inhabitants: exiles, migrants, people who, due to economic constraints, cannot access the housing market, and individuals with disabilities. Students were invited to reflect on the conditions of temporary living, on the different models of dwelling that have emerged in this area over time, and to propose their own collective housing projects. Their designs aim to respond to contemporary needs at multiple scales, as explored within the course —ranging from architectural and urban-scale interventions to that of interior design solutions for individual housing units, extending to the development of architectural and technological details.