Starting from the widespread presence of ground-mounted photovoltaic plants in Italy, the study explores how decommissioning and revamping processes can become an opportunity to rethink the relationship between energy production, landscape, and agricultural systems. Through territorial analyses, GIS-based tools, and design experiments developed in different Italian contexts, the research proposes strategies and spatial models aimed at transforming existing photovoltaic fields into next-generation “solarscapes”, integrating energy production with ecological and landscape objectives.

The work is the result of a multidisciplinary collaboration between research teams from the Politecnico di Torino, the Politecnico di Milano, and the Università di Torino, combining expertise in architecture, landscape design, and agronomy to develop tools and visions that can support future policies and practices for the transformation of energy landscapes.

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The project, coordinated by Elena Vigliocco (Politecnico di Torino), involved three research units:

Politecnico di Torino (RU1),

Politecnico di Milano (RU2),

Università  di Torino (RU3).

The research addressed the regeneration of ground-based photovoltaic fields at the end of their life cycle, not as an energy issue but as an opportunity to rethink urban morphologies and productive landscapes in Italy. The architectural, territorial, landscape, and agronomic dimensions of existing energy infrastructures are the core of the project, exploring strategies for decommissioning, revamping, and reuse within a broader framework of ecological transition and design innovation.

All three research units will participate in the event, promoting involvement for those interested in the topic; and engaging in a discussion of the project’s outcomes, future perspectives, and implications for planning and designing energy landscapes.

The event will also be an occasion to present the book:

Designing Forms for Future Solarscapes. A Vision for the Italian Palimpsest, Elena Vigliocco (edited by), 2025, LetteraVentidue.

The volume shows the scientific, cartographic, and design outcomes of the research, offering both a theoretical and operational reflection on Italian solar landscapes. It includes comparative atlases and a series of design scenarios developed for the reconfiguration of end-of-life photovoltaic fields in three selected case studies.

The book is available in open access at this link.

A second presentation of the PRIN research results and the volume will take place on:

Tuesday, 3 March, 2:30 p.m.

Department of Architecture and Urban Studies

Sala consiglio, Edificio 29 “Carta”, Politecnico di Milano – Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 26, Milano

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Developed between September 2025 and February 2026 by more than 50 international students of the Master of Science in Architecture for Sustainability (MASt), the design studio approached the Bormida as an environmental and social infrastructure capable of connecting landscapes, communities and productive practices. The river was observed not only in its physical and biological dimensions, but also as an archive of memories and as a possible structural framework for new forms of inhabiting, production and (not only human) use of the territory.

Through maps, drawings, models and installations, the exhibition presents the outcomes of research and design proposals that explore the relationships between water and communities, landscape and territorial infrastructures, highlighting often latent potentials and offering a reading of the river as a shared space of design.

The inaugural event will be held on Saturday, 21 February 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the Silk Museum of the former Monesiglio Spinning Mill and represents the final stage of a research and project that lasted almost five months, involving over 50 students from 21 countries.

The post Interfaces in Valle Bormida vol.1 appeared first on FULL | the Future Urban Legacy Lab.

By combining architectural, geospatial, landscape, and agronomic approaches, Next Generation Solar Landscapes seeks to redefine the relationship between energy production, land use, and landscape design. The research embraces a multidisciplinary team of three Research Unit.

• Politecnico di Torino (RU1), coordinated by Prof. Elena Vigliocco, with a team composed of architects, urban designers, and geomatics experts, is the lead unit of the project that has guided and developed the methodological and design framework of the research. Based on GIS-based mapping, spatial analysis, and morphological interpretation of photovoltaic landscapes, the team developed all the design strategies and transformation scenarios of the three selected case studies.
• Politecnico di Milano (RU2), coordinated by Prof. Sara Protasoni, contributes the perspective of landscape architecture, focusing on revamping, decommissioning and renaturalization design strategies and “what if” scenarios
• • Università degli Studi di Torino (RU3), coordinated by Prof. Amedeo Reyneri di Lagnasco, brings the expertise of agronomy and environmental sciences, addressing the ecological and productive impacts of land affected by ground-based photovoltaic installations.

The project is articulated into three main Work Packages (WP):

• WP1 – Photovoltaic landscapes and successful regeneration initiatives: a national-scale mapping and statistical analysis of ground-based photovoltaic fields, aimed at identifying spatial distribution, density, and typological characteristics of photovoltaic fields in each Italian region, providing a systematic overview of their territorial footprint;
• WP2 – Photovoltaic landscapes mapping and testing: a multiscalar and comparative mapping of three high-density and emblematic photovoltaic territories Brindisi (Puglia), Ravenna (Emilia Romagna), and Cuneo (Piedmont). Each case study explores site-specific design hypotheses for decommissioning, revamping or ecological reuse.
• WP3 – Regeneration solar landscapes Toolkit: a development of a Good Practice Toolkit providing design guidelines and operative frameworks for the spatial renewal of end-of-life photovoltaic fields, supporting public administrations, plannes and designers in managing the energy landscape transition.

Methodologically, the research integrates digital geo-information tools, GIS-based tools, morphological analysis, and design-based approach. Starting from the interpretation of the spatial structure of photovoltaic fields, the team developed a multi-scalar and multi-layered analytical and comparative matrix combining quantitative data with qualitative interpretation.

The resulting Atlas of Italian Solar Landscapes offers not only a descriptive mapping of the phenomenon but also an interpretative platform to support design-oriented decision-making, and the development of design scenarios for the adaptive reuse, reconfiguration, and ecological and landscape reintegration of end-of-life photovoltaic fields.

The project outcomes include:

• a national geodatabase of ground-based photovoltaic fields;
• a comparative atlas of three solar territories;
• and a toolkit of design and policy strategies for the regeneration of end-of-life photovoltaic landscapes.

By integrating architectural reasoning with landscape, agronomic and geomatic disciplines, Next Generation Solar Landscapes research demonstrates that the design of solar landscape cannot be separated from questions of urban form, ecology, and land use. The research thus contributes to a broader rethinking of how renewable energy infrastructures can shape, and be shaped by, the landscapes in which they are embedded.

The results of the project have been presented at international conferences and in scientific publications, including the open access book Designing Forms for Future Solarscapes. A Vision for the Italian Palimpsest (LetteraVentidue Edizioni), which brings together some of the results of the PRIN research.

Book website link: https://letteraventidue.com/it/libri/designing-forms-for-future-solarscapes-vigliocco

The project contributes to the international debate on energy transition and landscape design, positioning decommissioned photovoltaic fields as catalysts for a new generation of solar territories, and showing how the end-of-life of photovoltaic fields can become an opportunity to generate new forms of ecological and territorial balance.

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Nowadays, because of the climate change challenges and the consequent spread of renewable energies ¬– whose link with the Earth’s resources is strong and evident – energy production seems to increasingly become and impactful activity on the landscape. This impact – usually negatively evaluated – often causes a conflict between those who consider the preservation of the natural landscapes as a priority, and those who turn the gaze more on the ecological and environmental emergency.

Within this complex and multifaced scenario, the main key issues of the research are:

– What is a sustainable energy landscape, which opportunities does it offer, and which are the current challenges?

– Designing new solar energy landscapes, what room for manoeuvre does the landscape architecture project have?

– How can the shape of solar energy facilities re-design contemporary landscapes?

This research deals with the topic of morphological studies and architectural design of photovoltaic facilities as a tool to manage the current energy transition through the landscape architecture, and as opportunities to create sustainable, cultural, and quality landscapes.

The importance of conceiving photovoltaic fields not as temporary and unplanned objects but as architectures that are part of our urban and rural landscapes is the main thesis of this research. Because if it is true that photovoltaic fields may not just be temporary infrastructures but buildings, then it is also true that we can conceive of those buildings as works of architecture.

From a methodological point of view, the research combines an analytical approach and a research-by-design method.

One of the main aims of the research is to identify scalable design strategies for the project of new large-scale renewable energy plants.The research ambition is to impact contemporary attitudes in energy plant design activity, proposing new landscape typologies whose cultural values could be acknowledged, shared and enjoyed.

The research overlaps with the main goals of the ONU Agenda 2030 and the European Green Deal 2050, and includes the instances and the debates promoted both by associations and organizations for landscape quality preservation – e.g.: Council of Europe Landscape Convention, Europa Nostra, etc. – and the environmentalist activists and associations.

The thesis states that solar power plants are comparable to production factories, and their design belongs to the realm of architectural design. Until now, solar fields have been considered as temporary infrastructures which has led to lower attention to design qualities and a neglect of these facilities.

At the beginning of the thesis, the relevant contribution of architecture in the design of energy plants and landscapes becomes evident through the study of best practices. After the theoretical and historical framing, the solar energy landscapes are selected for the following studies. The research investigates the architectural forms that these infrastructures have generated in contemporary landscapes (case study analysis). Finally, the design experimentations suggest that the design of these energy plants not only can follow the parameters of architectural composition but also has the potential to design landscapes rich in qualities, to be discussed and evaluated together with the local communities and all the actors involved.

In this way, the architectural discipline can play a key role in designing and managing the current challenges of the energy transition, applying its strategies and methods to design renewable energy production spaces, and sustainable contemporary and future landscapes.

The post The Form of Energy. Solar landscapes in Europe as an architectural issue appeared first on FULL | the Future Urban Legacy Lab.

Exhibition curated by Francesca Frassoldati and Paolo Bianco.

AN INITIATIVE BY:
DAD Department of Architecture and Design
DIST Interuniversity Department of Sciences, Projects, and Policies of the Territory
FULL Future Urban Legacy Lab
WITH THE SUPPORT OF:
Municipality of Camerana
Municipality of Paroldo
WITH THE SUPPORT OF:
Alta Langa Cultural Park Association
Boschetto Alta Langa
MAIN SPONSOR:
Fedrigoni Paper

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The project was developed in collaboration with the City Council’s Department for Urban Care, Public Green Areas and Riverbanks of the City of Turin and the collaboration between Palazzo Madama and key national partners, who have always been committed to environmental conservation and protection, primarily the Po River Basin Authority (ABDPO) and the Interregional Agency for the Po River (A.I.Po) together with the Po Biosphere Reserves, now united in the UNESCO MaB Po Grande Reserve. Alongside them are Turin-based interpreters, from the Polytechnic University of Turin to the University of Turin and the European Research Institute, who carry out daily research and study of the Po and water in general from different disciplinary perspectives, with the media partnership of Rai Radio3.

Addressing the essential issues of climate change in an exhibition that weaves together a visual narrative developed entirely through the interaction between large-scale painting and photography, illustration, and infographics capable of narrating the Italian landscape in all its complexity and articulation, from the Alps to the sea, the exhibition project focuses on the theme of water and in particular on our Great River, which for millennia has determined the landscape and the life of the population, is a means of communication but also an essential support for agricultural and industrial activities, and explores the consequences and analyzes the potential solutions implemented in the area by the various research and protection agencies of the Po.

652 kilometers long, 141 tributaries, almost 87,000 square kilometers of river basin, 19,850,000 inhabitants, 37% of Italian agricultural production, 55% of the national livestock industry: the Po and the Po Valley, where 40% of the national GDP is produced, constitute one of the areas with the highest concentration of population, industry, and commercial activity in Europe.

This incredible development has been made possible thanks to the historic stability and abundance of Italy’s largest river, which is fed by countless sources and diverse natural processes—mountain springs, snowmelt, glaciers, large lakes, and plains springs—but which have undergone significant change in recent decades, leading to a crisis that is occurring everywhere on a global scale.

Precisely because of its unique characteristics and its wealth of history, historical stratification, and landscapes, the Po—Roman and pagan, Byzantine and Lombard, feudal and ruled by lords, countryside and cities, romantic, agricultural, industrial, touristic, and cinematic—is capable of symbolically and clearly conveying the climate crisis and its effects: the face of the planet is changing more rapidly than it has done in the last millennia, and the role that humans have played in this process has now been proven.

The Change! exhibition aims to describe these changes, offering opportunities to reflect on the crisis and possible scenarios for adapting to it, but also to urge action and awareness: it is time to act.

Change!, curated by Tiziana Caserta, Anna La Ferla, and Giovanni C.F. Villa, is accompanied by a catalog published by Silvana Editoriale, with contributions from scholars at the University of Turin, the University of Bergamo, the Polytechnic University of Turin, the Polytechnic University of Milan, ENEA, Slow Food, Adaptation.it, and Mondoserie.it, among others.

Change! Ieri, oggi, domani. Il Po. (Milano: Silvana Editoriale, 2024), ISBN 978-88-3665-882-4: 170-179, catalog of the exhibition Change! held at Palazzo Madama, Turin.

The post Strategic river planning. Possible approaches and transformative opportunities for the Turin context appeared first on FULL | the Future Urban Legacy Lab.

The event will be divided into two moments: maps, drawings and models will introduce the design proposals to the public, while a seminar for discussion and comparison will allow the reflections to be returned to the people who welcomed students and teachers in October during the preparation of the “Interfaces” workshop: Mayors, municipal technicians, local producers, new and old residents.

Inauguration:
Tuesday 25 June 2024
Primary School, Sale delle Langhe (CN)
5 p.m.

On this occasion teachers and students will be available to the public to talk about their projects and the experience of the design studio. Admission to the exhibition is free.

The post Interfaces in Alta Langa – second part appeared first on FULL | the Future Urban Legacy Lab.

The event will be divided into two moments: maps, drawings and models will introduce the design proposals to the public, while a seminar for discussion and comparison will allow the reflections to be returned to the people who welcomed students and teachers in October during the preparation of the “Interfaces” workshop: Mayors, municipal technicians, local producers, new and old residents.

The post INTERFACES IN ALTA LANGA appeared first on FULL | the Future Urban Legacy Lab.

Monteruga is an agricultural village and is characterized by the presence of two key components. The first is the natural one, even if tamed by man. The second is the building sector, conceived at the service of agricultural production. The research project analyses the conversion scenario of this landscape in the context of integrating the agricultural vocation of this landscape, the production of energy with photovoltaic systems, and the reactivation of the heritage of the historical village.

Riabitate Monteruga considers that the Apulian agricultural landscape comprises agrarian patterns and images. Each can be traced back to specific agricultural pieces that spontaneously determine a productive and diversified landscape when mixed.

Re-inhabit Monteruga is structured in 3 distinct but contextual actions

• • restore = reactivate olive production to restore the economies of olive growing and the images associated with it;
• • integrate agricultural production to produce a sustainable landscape with variable densities
• • compensate = activate integration with the economic and socio-cultural system present in the area

Each project action is articulated by identifying an abacus of basic production blocks,100 x 100 meters in size, and infrastructural devices.

The overlapping and juxtaposition of identified pieces and devices draw the new landscape of Monteruga conceived in relation to its tangible and intangible components. Re-inhabit Monteruga is possible through the synergy of these 3 actions.

Intervene, interfere, create alliances, and become part of something that changes as we understand it: re-inhabiting Monteruga does not mean bringing the agricultural village back to its origins but, starting from the interpretation of its potential, imagining a new balance.

The post LANDSCAPES OF THE FUTURE. The Agrovoltaic Park of Borgo Monteruga appeared first on FULL | the Future Urban Legacy Lab.