IBIDEM Design & Research Platform
Ibidem is a research and design platform including professionals, researchers and academics, bound together by common thematic and ethical understandings of the contemporary city. Each one is a contributor through experiences on specific issues, places and spaces at different urban and territorial scale. The heterogeneous perspectives we adopt are made possible also by intertwining members of different generations, specializations, affiliations, cultural backgrounds and locations.
The assumption of this platform is involving and enhancing the contribution of each member in an overall approach able to unravel dynamics and processes at the base of urban phenomena.
The multi-experienced and international approach of Ibidem reveals effective in dealing with the many and stratified urban complexities characterising the contemporaneity. For this reason, our method is rigorous but experimental, flexible and unconventional. Above all, Ibidem aims to capture spatial, cultural, economic, social and political, specificities, making of them the context in which to identify transformative potentialities and identities to strengthen and develop.
We aggregate in un a fluid and non-hierarchical manner, committing in theoretical, analytical and/or design and planning activities through team compositions tailored on specific tasks and skills each assignment raises. Ibidem welcomes collaborations with universities, institutions, municipalities and any stakeholder interested in independent, critical and innovative investigations, scenarios, interpretations, in-depth researches, strategic substrate setups, within which implement future evolutions.
People
Marco Baccarelli, PhD, is an architect and urban designer Milan based (Italy) From 2002 to 2008 he collaborated with several architectural firms participating in urban and architectural research, and working on several projects and international competitions. In 2008 he began working independently, collaborating with several architectural and engineering offices. He recently established a design and research team called Nimbu, a group working on several projects both at urban and architectural scale. The group also partakes international competitions and obtaining many awards and honorable mentions. Among others: International Idea competition for the waterfront of the town of Gabicce mare. Urban themes for a city of the sea (2014, third price); Between Public and Private. New ways of living, working, inhabiting organized by Polytechnic of Milan (2013, first price); AAA Looking for Architects 2013 (Mention): Requalification of the site in Rogoredo area in Milan through social housing. He also conducts a persistent academic activity particularly focused on contemporary transformation within the urban territories both at architectural and urban scale, with special regard to post-crisis dynamics and urban resilience forms. He teaches Architectural and Urban Planning at the Faculties of Milano and Piacenza of the Polytechnic of Milan.
Davide Costelli is landscape architect graduated from the ENSP (National School of Landscape Architecture) of Versailles, France, in 2014 and architect graduated from the Polytechnic school of Architecture in Milan in 2005. Actually he is enrolled to the Master2 of research TDPP (Theories and approaches of landscape projects) in National School of Landscape Architecture of Versailles. His last research concerns the integration of public urban space with agriculture in suburban cities. From 2006 to 2016, he worked in OLM landscape office in Paris like a project manager. In February 2016 he manages his landscape office, DCpaysage in Paris and he defend the experimental process of project with theory.
Alessandro Cugola completed his bachelor between Milan and Berlin, studying at Politecnico di Milano and Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK). In Berlin he also worked as architect junior for Julain Breinersdorfer, dealing with project of renovations and interior design. Alessandro is now based in Bruxelles where he completed his Master's Degree in Architecture at the Saint Lukas - KU Leuven. His core studies are about urban planning and anthropology. He also works as a designer at urban and architectural scale.
Ioanni Delsante is currently Reader in Urban Design at the University of Huddersfield (UK). Prior to this, he was Assistant Professor in Architectural and Urban Design at the University of Pavia. Course Leader for MA Urban Design at the University of Huddersfield, he previously taught at University of Pavia, Politecnico di Milano and Tongji University of Shanghai. He is member of the Advisory Committee of the PhD program in Arquitectura at the Escuela Tècnica Superior de Arquitectura, University of Sevilla (Spain), and since 2015 member of the British Council Science Research Reviewer Panel. Chair of the Urban Futures and Design Lab at the University of Huddersfield, he is currently chartered member of the RIBA, Academician of the Academy of Urbanism, member of the Urban Design Group and Royal Town Planning Institute Affiliate. Associate Editor of the Journal of Urban Planning and Development (ASCE) he acts as peer reviewer for various journals and research councils. His current research interests deal with: urban morphology and its links with planetary urbanisation; forms of alter-urbanisation and alternative urban transformations, through the lens of urban commons, design agencies and creativity.
Antonio di Campli is architect and scholar in urban design and history of urbanism. He received a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the University of Chieti-Pescara and a Master of Architecture from the IUAV University in Venice. He received prestigious fellowships from EPFL, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Politecnico di Torino, and Senescyt, Secretaría Nacional de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, Quito. In 2014 he obtained the National Scientific Qualification to function as an Associate Professor in Italian Universities. He has taught at many universities in Europe and Latin America. He also served in the planning expert committees of a few Latin American cities. He currently teaches Theory of Urbanism at the University of Camerino, School of Architecture and Design, and develops research activities at the Pontifical Xaverian University of Bogotá. His research and scholar interests lie at the intersection of urban design, social sciences and landscape theories.
Ettore Donadoni, PhD, is an architect and urban designer Milan based (Italy) and Nimbu team member, an independent research group working on several projects and international competitions obtaining awards and honorable mentions. Nimbu also collaborates with renowned architecture offices, among others Barreca&La Varra, Archis, Boeri Studio. He has been involved in national research projects, workshops, exhibits. Among others, “Re-Cycle Italy”, a National Research Project where he developed a study on sustainable mobility networks in the Italian North-East territory. He also investigated network representations roles in contemporary territory definitions, highlighting complex mechanisms of globalized relations and weavings. He currently teaches at the Polytechnic of Milan “Urban Design and Planning Techniques”. He published his researches and projects in both architecture or urban journals and book chapters.
Federica Duca, PhD, is a researcher at the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), Johannesburg. She obtained her PhD in Sociology from the University of Trento. Her work is about urban spaces, suburbs, gated communities, belonging, retreat and elite formation. She studies urban spaces adopting a relational perspective and she is interested in "studying up". Recently she has also started working on a project on “Taxation and State formation” in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her research interests include urban studies, representation of space and social construction of urban forms and means of its transformation. She extensively published her researches on international journals and books.
Beatrice Galimberti, Milan, Italy, Architect and Phd Candidate, studied at Politecnico di Milano and since then is dividing her time among practice, research, training, and cooperation. Beatrice collaborates with Politecnico di Milano, where she is research and teaching assistant focused on temporary habitat, public space, and urban design issues. She was also involved in Politecnico di Milano research groups like "Mapping San Siro" and the ongoing Taranto-Ilva urban case of industrial pollution. She is trustee of NGO Architectures Sans Frontières International-Italy, where she is engaged both on training programmes and live projects of international and local cooperation with a strong attention to equitable production of the built environment. She is also a designer collaborating with international firms like Opera Studio (Milan-New York).
Francesca Gervasutti, Tokyo, Japan, Architect. She graduated in 2016 in Building Architecture M.Sc at Politecnico di Milano. In 2012-13 she studied at Mackenzie University, in Sao Paulo, Brasil ; then in 2015-16, at Shenzhen University, China, where she started work as architect at Studio Georges Hung in Hong Kong . During university she had experience in several studios in Milan: Baukhu, EPTA, NormaleArchitettura. Francesca collaborates with Politecnico di Milano, where she is teaching assistant in architectural and urban design studio, focusing on public space, social housing and urban design issues. Since 2017 she works at SANAA in Tokyo.
Martina Orsini, PhD, is an urban and architecture designer and scholar Milan based (Italy). She has been professor of Urban and Territorial Design Lab and Urban Principles Course at the Faculty of Civil Architecture of Politecnico di Milano for more than a decade. She has been involved in national research projects, coordinated researches, workshops, exhibits and extensively published on contemporary city themes. She is recently focusing on public spaces of the contemporary city highlighting dynamics of economical, spatial and social privatization and global design practices effects in terms of de-materialization of city forms and collective dimensions. Along with scholarly activity she collaborates with renowned Milan firms, and manages her own design assignments and consultancies.
Ani Safaryan obtained two Master’s Degrees from NUACA (Armenia) and Politecnico di Milano (Italy). She has recently focused on real estate dynamics, shared living and shared economy, with a particular interest for the passage from market-based to crowd-based capitalism, where access is the new value. She is teaching assistant at the Politecnico di Milano. Along with conceptual activity she works as a designer at urban and architectural scale. She has worked for renowned architectural offices in Russia, Armenia, Spain, China and Italy.
Virginia Sellari graduated at Politecnicodi Milano in 2015. She joined the Erasmus program in Lisbon in 2016 at the Lusofona University. She has exstensively investigated shrinking cities of the North, with a particular focus on the case of Kiruna in the Arctic Circle and its extreme conditions as the opportunity of a relation with the landscape rethinking, using the ground as the limit between inside and outside. She is teaching assistant at the Politecnico di Milano. She is actually working as a designer for important international developers specialized on exhibition pavilions for major global events in Arab countries.
Marco Voltini, PhD, is an architect, urban designer and scholar based in Milan (Italy). He studied between IUAV (Venice), Polytechnic of Milan (Milan) and EPFL (Lausanne). During his training he collaborated with several renowned architecture offices like Quattroassociati, Privileggio_Secchi, Mauro Galantino, Metrogramma. Since he manages his own professional activity has run and won several competitions at both architectural and urban scale. Along with the professional practice he conducts an intense theoretical activity recently focused on open and public spaces in the contemporary city with a particular focus on space and social behaviours relations, on architecture and urbanism theories history, on architectural and urban scale intersections. He teaches Urban and Architectural Composition at the Polytechnic of Milan.
Maria Zaghi was born in in Milan. She gradueted at Politecnico di Milano in 2013. During her studies she took part of the association IRA_C, Interaction Research Architecture, interested in promoting conscious use of public space. She worked as researcher and assistant at Politecnico di Milano, collaborating with the professor Martina Orsini. Since 2013 he has been involved in several projects and competitions , collaborating with international studies like Wiel Arets, West 8, Aterlier Bow Wow, MML Landschaftsarchitekten. She currently lives and works in Berlin.
TRAINEES
Mike Lidwin will graduate from the University of Tennessee (United States) in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Arts in Italian. He conducted international research as part of the 2019 Aydelott Travel Fellowship – studying public spaces that emerge in urban threshold conditions around Agra, India; Yokohama, Japan; Valletta, Malta; and Arnhem, Netherlands. In 2018, Mike participated in the Finland Summer Architecture Institute at Aalto University in Finland. There, he participated in studio research around conditions of landscape and documentation – assisting with the documentation and digital modeling of Aalto’s Enzo Gutzeit Country Club and Sauna in Kortvik. His professional experience includes interning for Gensler’s New York office in Spring 2019, as well as for Drysdale Design, Inc. during several breaks from university.
Martina Parma is studying in Milan (Italy) to became an urban planner. She worked at Open Fabric, a young Landscape Architecture andUrban Design practice based in Rotterdam and Milan. Actually, she is working onthe implementation of green areas and environmental network for MilanMunicipality and she is attending her master degree in Urban Planning andPolicy design at Politecnico Di Milano, where she is also a student instructor. Her core studies are about urban regeneration thorough new urbanplanning tools. Her work is based on the research of new ways to representurban phenomena using innovative cartography and new forms of mapping.