Leftovers at the Start. From the Analysis of the Theme to the Development of Design Strategies

To demonstrate a theory, to sediment contents or to spread a manifesto, there is no more fertile ground than the University. Students are at the same time the lifeblood that transmits energy to new things, and the litmus paper to understand if the elements proposed have the characteristic of being feasible in the contemporary context. In the last five years, the ‘unfinished’ as a didactic topic has been proposed in the ‘Laboratorio di Sintesi Finale’ of the School of Design of the Politecnico di Milano, entitled Avanzi. Working on territories and buildings of a different nature, linked by the condition of Avanzi, in other words, spaces that have been built to perform a function and that are then advanced, as when you cook in excess. The Laboratory provides that the students put into play all the notions learned during the three years of the course of study, deepening the project, making it their thesis degree. Among the objectives (and methods) of the didactic approach, it is required to develop design strategies that can be applied to the theme. The chapter is divided into two main parts, the first one is a reconnaissance on the topic, the second one is a luggage of strategies presented to the students as an example and then some of the ones provided by them are presented.