At Arcella, the "Neighbourhood Laboratory" Comes to Life
15.10.2025
Today, during a press conference, the "Neighbourhood Laboratory" was presented, an innovative urban regeneration and social innovation project that will transform a private property into an excellent space serving the University of Padua, designed by architect Renzo Piano.
The initiative is part of the national G124 programme, promoted by the same life Senator, dedicated to the redevelopment of urban suburbs through sustainable and participatory architectural interventions. In Padua, the project will involve the Arcella neighbourhood, one of the city's most populous and multicultural areas, with the aim of creating a place for community interaction, cultural production, and shared planning.
The new Laboratory will be established thanks to a donation from engineer Guglielmo Bedeschi, honorary president of the Association of Friends of the University of Padua. The existing buildings, owned by the Bedeschi family, will be demolished to make way for a new two-level complex: on the ground floor, there will be three multipurpose rooms for workshops, meetings, and exhibitions, while the first floor will host office and residential spaces.
The works are scheduled for December 2025, with completion expected by spring 2027. The total investment amounts to approximately two million euros, funded half by the Cariparo Foundation and half by private supporters.
The "Neighbourhood Laboratory" will also serve as the national research centre on suburbs for the G124 programme, coordinated at the national level by the University of Padua, the lead institution in the project which also involves the universities of Rome, Syracuse, Palermo, Milan, Bologna, Naples, and Bari.
Renzo Piano has described the future space as a "container of affections and intelligence," capable of accommodating educational, training, creative, and residential functions. This initiative aims to spark new bottom-up urban regeneration processes, activating social and cultural energies in the heart of Arcella.
Since 2013, life Senator Renzo Piano has been funding scholarships for young designers involved in the G124 programme with his own salary, reaffirming his concrete commitment to a new idea of the city, one that is inclusive and sustainable.
