Circular youth hostel. By Bernardo Secchi & Paola Viganò

Bernardo Secchi (Milan, 1934-2014). Professor Emeritus of Urban Planning at the University IUAV of Venezia. From 1974 up to 1984 he taught at the Milan Politechnic, where he was Dean from 1976 to 1982 and, since 1984, at the University IUAV. He has been professor at the École d'Architecture in Geneva (EAUG) and has taught courses at the University of Leuven (KUL), at ETH Zurich, at the Institut d' Urbanisme de Paris and at the Ecole d’Architecture de Bretagne (Rennes). In 2004 he received an honorary degree from the University Mendès France in Grenoble and the Special Jury Prize of the Grand Prix d'Urbanisme conferred by the French Minister de l'Équipement. In 2010 he received an honorary degree from the University of Hasselt – Belgium and he was awarded the title of Chévalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'honneur. In 2014 he was awarded the nomination “Socio de Honor”  Honorary memberof the Club de Debates Urbanos of Madrid – Spain.He is a member of the board of the European Postgraduate Master in Urbanism (EMU), a joint diploma among Università IUAV di Venezia, KU Leuven, TU Delft,UPC Barcelona and holds conferences and courses in the major schools of architecture in Europe.

He participated in the study of an inter-municipal plan for Milan (1960-63); worked together with Giuseppe Samonà on the development of the Trento regional plan (1966), and (with Paolo Ceccarelli) on the Aosta Valley plan (1972).

He participated in the drafting of the new General Plan of Madrid (1984), drew up the plans of Jesi (1984-1987), Siena (1986-1990) , Abano (1991-1992), Bergamo (1994) and the plans of the provinces of Pescara and La Spezia. He was commissioned studies for the recovery plan of Garduna - Jolo, Prato (1988-1992), the detailed plan of the IP oil refinery in La Spezia (1988), for resetting the industrial area of Sécheron in Geneva (1989). In 1990 won the competition to design the areas south of the city of Kortrijk (Hoog Kortrijk, Belgium), where he had been invited along with other European architects and planners.

He has participated as a consultant to urban planning and won the " Ecopolis " (project of a new city in Ukraine - group directed by Vittorio Gregotti, 1993). He won in partnership, the competition "city of the Tiber in Rome" (1993). It was "urbaniste conseil" (1996) de l'Établissement public Euromediterranée for the design of the central part and the harbour area of Marseille and consultant (1997-1998) of the Port of Genoa for the design of the masterplan of the harbour. He chaired the Commission for the preparation of Guidelines for Planning and the Environment at the Ministry of the Environment.

It is part of the group founder and editor of "Archivio di Studi urbani e regionali". Between 1982 and 1996 he was part of Casabella and from 1984 to 1990 he directed  Urbanistica.  He has organized numerous design competitions, including the “Bicocca Project " in Milan, "Edifici Mondo” competition for the recovery of the old town of Salerno and has served on numerous juries for competitions in architecture and urban planning (Milan, Bicocca; Antwerp, Staad aan de Stroom; Bologna, Central Station; Geneva, Palais des Nations; Nice, Nouvelle Marie; Lyon, Grand prix des formations; Paris, the Grand Prix d'urbanisme et de l'art urbain; VI biennial of Spanish Architecture).

In 1990 he founded Studio with Paola Viganò.

Paola Viganò (Sondrio, May 29, 1961), architect and urbanist, is Full Professor of Urbanism and Urban Design at the Università IUAV di Venezia and coordinator of the program in Urbanism in the “Architecture, City and Design” PhD. She has recently been appointed Professor for Urban Theory and Urban Design at the EPFL. She graduated in Architecture in 1987, in 1989 she became assistant in the course of Urbanism held by Bernardo Secchi at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura of Venice. From 1991 to 1994 she attended the PhD program in Architectural Design at IUAV. In 1994 she obtained the research doctorate in Architectural and Urban Composition.

Since 1998 she is Associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Polytechnic of Bari until 2001 and later at IUAV. In 2000 and subsequently, from 2005 to 2009 she is guest professor at KU Leuven, Belgium (Faculty of Applied Sciences, department of urban planning and architecture). During the period 2003-2004 she was guest professor at EPFL (École Polytechnique de Lausanne), and later in Aarhus, Denmark and Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium.

She is a member of the faculty of the European Postgraduate Master in Urbanism (EMU - IUAV Venice, KU Leuven, TU Delft , UPC Barcelona) and coordinator of the Venice program. She is also part of the scientific committee of the International PhD Seminars of the same schools. In 2008 she is Associate Researcher at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montreal. Since 2013 she is professor at EPFL (Lausanne) where she directs the Laboratory in Urbanism (lab-U). In 2012 and 2013 she is a visiting professor at the Graduate School of Design (Harvard University).

She was awarded the Grand Prix de l’Urbanisme in 2013. In 1988 she participated in the project for the recovery of the former refinery IP in La Spezia in 1989 has been selected (4th prize) in the international competition for the recovery of the concentration camp Fossoli. That same year she participated in the competition for the development of Hoog Kortrijk (winner project, with B. Secchi). In 1998 she won the international competition as group leader " Urban Park Areas Falck " in Sesto San Giovanni , and in 2000 was selected for the international competition " Urban Park Tarello " in Brescia . She designed a masterplan for a residential project in Sondrio, realizing two villas and a house in Valtellina (included in Architetti interpretano la casa di abitazione italiana, Biblos, Cittadella, 2005).

She has organized several design competitions, including "Edifici Mondo” competition for the recovery of the old town of Salerno and has served on numerous juries for competitions in architecture and urban planning. She lectures at major schools of architecture internationally.

In 1990 she founded Studio together with Bernardo Secchi.