Esplorazioni Urbane
On 9 June 2026, Oneworks Foundation and Radical Flows brought together researchers, designers, architects, activists, academics, institutions and cultural organisations at BASE Milano for Esplorazioni Urbane, a research laboratory dedicated to the future of public space.
The initiative emerged from a simple yet pressing question: how can we continue to imagine and shape the future of Milan at a time when discussions around urban regeneration have become increasingly polarised?
In recent months, public debate on the city has often centred on planning disputes, real estate development, and administrative processes. Esplorazioni Urbane sought to reframe the conversation around people and their relationship with public space.
Structured as a series of thematic roundtables, the workshop invited participants from different disciplines and backgrounds to explore six key themes, defined by six keywords: Stare (Belonging), Ombra/Acqua (Climate), Movimento (Movement), Desiderio (Desire), Cura (Care), and Confini (Boundaries). Each table was guided by a moderator and a spokesperson, creating a space for exchange of perspectives and the emergence of new ideas.
Rather than defining solutions in advance, the format encouraged participants to interpret each theme through their own experience and expertise. The discussions addressed issues of inclusion, accessibility, environmental quality, social relationships, mobility, care, belonging, and the evolving role of public space within the contemporary city. Participants from academia, professional practice, civic activism, and cultural organisations contributed to a collective exploration of some of the key challenges Milan is facing today.
The event concluded with a plenary session, during which the spokespersons presented the key reflections emerging from each group. These revealed not only different ways of understanding urban space, but also a shared interest in imagining new forms of collaboration, experimentation, and civic engagement.
For Oneworks Foundation, this is the beginning of a broader research journey. The ideas and questions raised during Esplorazioni Urbane will inform future activities, with a follow-up event already planned for autumn 2026.
STARE
Spokesperson: Silvia Botti, Director, Oneworks Foundation
Moderator: Nicola Russi, Architect, Laboratorio Permanente
Marco Boffi (Università degli Studi di Milano), Francesca Boni (Saichepuoi), Floria Bruzzone (SBGA), Andrea Capaldi (Mare Culturale Urbano), Ludovico Da Prato (Fondazione Housing Sociale), Francesco Fresa (Piuarch), Barbara Piga (Politecnico di Milano), Diego Terna (NABA), Delia Valastro (Fondazione Mobilità in Città).
OMBRA–ACQUA
Spokesperson: Stefano Cardini, Journalist
Moderator: Arianna Piva, Architect, Metrogramma
Maria Aldera (Saichepuoi), Elisabetta Bianchessi (NABA), Alfonso Femia (Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia), Andreas Kipar (LAND), Emilio Lonardo (DOS – Design Open Spaces), Emily Rose Palm (Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca), Gloria Pellone (Cittadini per l'Aria), Vittorio Rodeschini (Landscape Festival).
MOVIMENTO
Spokesperson: Sara Banti, Journalist, Abitare
Moderator: Federico Parolotto, Architect and Mobility Expert, MIC-HUB
Guia Biscaro (Consulta Mobilità Attiva / Ciclobby), Paolo Bovio (Journalist), Matteo Colleoni (Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca), Leopoldo Freyrie (Freyrie Flores Architettura), Ico Migliore (Migliore+Servetto), Valerio Montieri (Montieri Macchi Architetti), Filippo Pagliani (Park Associati), Paola Pucci (Politecnico di Milano), Gaia Sgaramella (Fondazione Mobilità in Città).
DESIDERIO
Spokesperson: Alessia Macchiavello, Oneworks Foundation
Moderator: Andrea Boschetti, Architect, Metrogramma
Francesco Cavalli (Leftloft), Fabio Claps (Saichepuoi), Edoardo Croci (Università Bocconi), Alice Dal Borgo (Università degli Studi di Milano), Rossella Destefani (De Amicis Architetti), Alessandro Maggioni (Confcooperative Habitat), Nausicaa Pezzoni (Città Metropolitana di Milano), Michele Rossi (Park Associati), Elena Stoppioni (Save the Planet).
CURA
Spokesperson: Alice Piciocchi, Noi – Libreria di Quartiere
Moderator: Simonetta Venosta, Architect, Fondazione Housing Sociale
Andrea Botta (DOS – Design Open Spaces), Lorenzo Carni (BASE Milano), Roberta Cossia (Carcere di Bollate), Marco Gazzola (MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects), Isabella Inti (Temporiuso), Orsina Simona Pierini (Politecnico di Milano), Andrea Pirovano (Progetto Natura Onlus), Angelica Sylos Labini (Laboratorio Permanente), Valentina Zaro (Fondazione Housing Sociale).
CONFINI
Spokesperson: Ruben Baiocco, Università degli Studi di Milano
Moderator: Carolina Pacchi, Politecnico di Milano
Silvio Cioni (Domus Academy), Federico Del Prete (Legambiente), Giordana Ferri (Fondazione Housing Sociale), Carlo Gandolfi (Bunker), Antonio Longo (Politecnico di Milano), Azzurra Muzzonigro (Architect), Massimiliano Tonelli (Journalist), Umberto Vascelli Vallara (Italia Nostra).