Architect Alessandro Orsini on Siena's Community and Urban Future
Since 2017, Alessandro Orsini, an architect and director of the Summer Study Abroad program at Hillier College of Architecture, has been working closely with Siena. Teaming up with local architect Enrica Burroni and the Siena urban planning department, his students have explored spaces like boundaries and unutilized areas, focusing on community and social connections. Notable sites they studied include Ex Sita on Via Pescaia, Ex Mercato delle Verdure on Via Toselli, and Ex Lavatoi Fontebranda in the contrada dell'Oca. Orsini emphasizes how Siena's contrade act as self-sustaining communities, enhancing social ties and offering resources like scholarships. His participation in events like the Palio showcased the city's rich communal heritage since the Middle Ages.
Key facts
- Alessandro Orsini first visited Siena in summer 2017.
- He became director of the Summer Study Abroad program at Hillier College of Architecture, NJIT.
- Workshops focus on boundaries, interstitial spaces, and commons.
- Key sites: Ex Sita, Ex Mercato delle Verdure, Ex Lavatoi Fontebranda.
- Collaborators: Enrica Burroni and Comune di Siena's urban planning department.
- Contrade provide scholarships, food, spaces, and housing.
- Orsini moved to New York in 2004 after graduating in Rome.
- He studied at Roma Tre University and Columbia University.
Entities
Artists
- Jacopo della Quercia
- Alessandro Orsini
- Enrica Burroni
- Alessandro Anselmi
- Tommaso Giuralongo
- Yehuda Safran
Institutions
- Hillier College of Architecture at the New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Comune di Siena
- Columbia University
- Roma Tre University
- Artribune
Locations
- Siena
- New York
- Rome
- Via Pescaia
- Via Toselli
- Fontebranda
- Fortezza Medicea
- Italy