Student residence "Lina Meneghetti"

The recovery and re-functionalization of the architectural compendium "Lina Meneghetti", located in the heart of the historic center of Padua between Via Sant'Eufemia and Via Falloppio, was born with the aim of returning to the city a complex of extraordinary historical and architectural value, now unused, transforming it into a modern university residence with 85 beds.

Located in a strategic position with respect to the main university campuses, the complex will be completely redeveloped by the end of 2028, becoming a new hub of contemporary student living, capable of combining quality of spaces, historical memory and urban integration.

The project relates architectural stratifications belonging to different eras but united by a strong spatial continuity: the remains of an early Christian hypogeum, a medieval tower, the sixteenth-century Mocenigo-Querini palace, custodian of precious cycles of frescoes, and the rationalist building of the fifties designed by the engineer Giulio Brunetta. The result is a balanced dialogue between conservation and contemporaneity, in which the restoration of stone and decorated surfaces is integrated with a refunctionalization attentive to the needs of modern living.

Within the monumental portion, the ground floor is reconfigured as a space dedicated to collective life: the concierge, the newspaper library, the study rooms and the multifunctional rooms are located in the historic halls, preserving the original tripartite layout and enhancing the monumental scenographic staircase. Vertical accessibility will be guaranteed through a rationalization of the paths and the insertion of new lifts and lifting platforms.

In residential areas, the protection of the decorative apparatus is pursued through reversible and light design solutions, such as the independent volumes intended for private toilets, designed to safeguard the spatial perception of the historic environments and enhance their soffits, friezes and decorated surfaces.

At the same time, the twentieth-century building was reinterpreted to house housing units consistent with contemporary quality standards, evolving the original internal distribution without betraying its architectural characteristics. The ground floor on pilotis continues to define an open and permeable relationship with the large internal garden, where centuries-old trees, paths and new plant islands build a space of connection between the architecture and the surrounding urban fabric.