Designing with(in) fragility Excerpt from the Hospice of the “Pio Monte della Misericordia” in Casamicciola Terme

PhD candidate in Architecture at the University of Naples ‘Federico II’, under a joint supervision scheme with Epoka University in Tirana. Her research examines the relationship between the political frontier and urban space, with a particular focus on the places co-produced by cities and borders, which are interpreted as revealing new potential readings of border urbanscapes. Her work explores the role of architecture in interpreting complex and contested contexts – particularly in Europe – through the discipline’s tools, direct knowledge of places and a transdisciplinary approach, with the aim of proposing a situated and trans-scalar narrative of frontier realities. She participates in interdisciplinary research groups focusing on urban inequalities, spatial rights and contemporary forms of marginalization.

PhD candidate in Architecture at University of Naples “Federico II”. Her research explores the architectural heritage of modern-era spa complexes, with a particular focus on the “Nuove Terme” of Castellammare di Stabia. Her work centers on wellness landscapes as cultural and spatial constructs in a state of constant transformation, examining the role of modern spa architecture in the construction of collective memory. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, it explores the connections between history and design, with the aim of restoring a critical and design-oriented centrality to healthcare settings within the contemporary debate on the future of the heritage of wellbeing. She participates in interdisciplinary research groups focusing on urban inequalities, spatial rights and contemporary forms of marginalization.

Mario Galterisi is an architect and holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of Naples Federico II. His research focuses on processes of territorial stigmatization and the relationships between the built environment, urban marginalization, public representation and spatial justice. He defended his doctoral thesis, [A]stigma-tismo. Notes towards the destigmatisation of the public city, in which stigma is investigated as a social and spatial process capable of affecting conditions of visibility, accessibility and recognition in public urban spaces. He carries out research and teaches at the Department of Architecture at the University of Naples Federico II. He participates in interdisciplinary research groups focusing on urban inequalities, spatial rights and contemporary forms of marginalization.