Re.Co.De: Reshaping Contemporary Dwelling

During the 20th century the issue of dwelling in the city was mainly solved with the production of mass housing. At the turn of the 21st century this model shows patent signs of crisis. Not because of the obsolescence of the technical tools developed over time, but rather because of the fading away of its cultural premises, of the ideology that had shaped it, of the social project that defined its role and scope. In order to design forms, uses and interiors of contemporary dwelling it is, therefore, necessary to shift from the functional concept of dwelling as an object to the cultural concept of dwelling as an experience, focusing the analysis on the ‘dweller’, with its corporeality, behaviour patterns, social interactions. In this light, the concept of home itself is to be reconsidered as more and more for many people it tends to turn into a plurality of different places which are simultaneously (loss of unity) and/or temporarily (loss of stability) used as dwellings. Multi-local living and cohabitation are growing trends that go in parallel with, and indeed stem from, the pluralization of job positions and of family arrangements and assets. The various – and changing – ways and solutions in which the people organise and re-organise their living in the city in order to be able to afford their housing costs and their family life needs, is to be more closely investigated, as this brings along significant changes in terms of housing cultures, patterns of solidarity/community, and socio-spatial organisation.