Re-Gen Gorizia
Project
Competition, Public Space
Location
Year
2026
Designers
İnci Shoainia, Emil Shoainia
Project name
SPINE OF CONTINUITY
Degree
Finalist
The Sant’Anna project aims to transform an urban fabric whose public spaces are currently fragmented and whose social and physical nodes remain isolated into a continuous, cohesive network. The flexible linear line forming the main spine of the project connects the social, commercial, and residential nodes across the neighborhood, serving both as the primary circulation axis and as a vibrant corridor for public life. The secondary loop connections articulated to this primary spine increase neighborhood permeability by defining alternative, intimate, and flexible access routes between residential areas and public facilities; thus, the fragmented structure attains legibility and hierarchical integrity.
The design establishes a multidimensional urban system by integrating the physical movement network with ecological infrastructure and social use layers. Through permeable surfaces, rainwater management systems, and continuous green corridors, water and landscape are rendered integral, experiential components of public life. This layered scheme—where movement, nature, and daily routines overlap—enhances microclimatic comfort and biodiversity while generating a flexible urban identity focused on human dignity and collective memory, capable of adapting to different times of day and future transformations.
SPATIAL CONFIGURATION
The flexible linear axis forming the main spine of the project is treated not merely as a circulation corridor, but as the primary space-generating system that binds the fragmented urban fabric together. Bringing existing social, commercial, and residential nodes along a continuous line, this spine is reinforced by secondary loop paths to create high permeability and alternative movement routes at the neighborhood scale. Moments of compression and expansion configured along the movement paths elevate the public realm from a monotonous transitional strip into a dynamic spatial experience that accommodates daily encounters, collective interactions, and multifunctional uses capable of adapting over time.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRUCTURE AND SITE
Positioned at the fragmented and undefined urban edges of Sant’Anna, the project acts as an active interface providing continuity between the built environment and the natural landscape. Rather than treating buildings and open spaces as isolated intervention points, it anchors them to the ground through a backbone responsive to existing topography, urban traces, and climatic conditions. With an approach that frames vistas, guides pedestrian movement, and establishes a gradual transition between the hard urban fabric and green corridors, the design constructs an grounded urban continuity that integrates with the terrain rather than producing dominant objects that impose upon their surroundings.
PROGRAM AND GROUND STRATEGY
Programmatic elements are configured as nodes strategically distributed and intensified along the main spine and loop paths. In this process, the ground is articulated as a primary infrastructural layer evolving from hard paving to semi-permeable textures, and onward from rainwater collection swales to continuous green areas. This layered strategy—formed by overlapping green corridors, water management systems, and social amenities at ground level—transforms the public realm into a flexible, ecological, and inclusive space capable of responding to shifting needs across different times of day and seasons.
