XL: Metadesign for the Relocation of Università degli Studi di Milano (the Milan State University)

Spaces can become iconic places of belonging for the communities that inhabit them, in which hopes, ambitions, and future scenarios are embedded. However, they can also embody individuals’ and future communities’ fears and resistance when faced with signi!cant change. This chapter focuses on the synergy of different entities (physical, intangible, and human interactions) that have emerged from the decision to move the Università degli Studi di Milano’s science faculties to a new location – the 2015 Expo Area. This unexpected change presented the challenge of imagining spaces and facilities appropriate for current and future interdisciplinary cooperation in research, teaching, and learning practices. What happens when the successful planning of a physical space is intrinsically related to the consent of its inhabitants? As the chief consultant, Politecnico di Milano was interested in researching high-level project criteria, expectations, and needs of a cohesive and successful organization of the various entities and activities. The aim was to balance the future settlement’s spatial dimension, based on quantitative analysis, and the appropriate mood, through inclusive co-design processes. The result was to work on a metadesign level. The approach generated a “space of discussion” for future campus inhabitants as a strategy where participants had the freedom to distance themselves from current constraints and start imagining future scenarios with a whole new mindset.