tetra
Concept Tetra is conceived through a clear and paradigmatic set of choices, developed in continuous dialogue with the urban context of San Carlo all’Arena. The project recomposes a “back-facing” part of Naples, behind the Albergo dei Poveri, transforming it into a public device capable of reactivating memory and civic presence. Urban system Tetra is configured as a unitary cultural park articulated through three complementary domains, guided by a single intention: to vivify memory and make it accessible. The system connects the Albergo dei Poveri, the Botanical Garden and the city, dispersing the cultural programme and its organisational infrastructure across the site. Function is not enclosed within a single volume. It is distributed through a sequence of open and traversable spaces, allowing the different parts of the project to operate independently while remaining connected within a shared urban framework. Inhabitable infrastructure The first quadrant occupies the former depot for Naples’ public transport vehicles. Here, the structure of the existing pavilion is reworked as an inhabitable infrastructure containing recreational, workshop and exhibition spaces. A network of panoramic walkways crosses the existing frame, introducing new routes, viewpoints and thresholds. The retained structure becomes both the physical support of the intervention and the device through which the site can be explored. Archival core From the former depot, the route enters the archival core, housed within four central towers and accessible through a sequence of hypogeal spaces. Preservation is conceived as an experience rather than as a static condition, guiding visitors between immersion and re-emergence. The route rises towards the level of the Albergo dei Poveri, reconnecting the rear of the monumental complex with the grounds of the Botanical Garden and completing the system through a third green domain. Open framework The composition is founded on the tension between a defined diagram and freedom of use. Seven burnished-steel towers, conceived as figures inspired by Neapolitan folklore, establish a fixed but non-prescriptive grid. Like a playing field, this framework allows visitors to construct personal routes and encounter different spatial experiences within a shared conceptual order. Spaces are released from a rigid relationship between function and form, encouraging discovery, movement and questioning. Understanding happens in space, through traversal. Total design Tetra was developed by understanding architecture not only as the design of built space, but as a total cultural act: a project of meaning, form and relationships. The archive emerges from an idea of architecture that extends beyond walls to inhabit the languages of communication, technology and design. The project therefore includes not only the building, but also its presence within the contemporary world. The archive’s website, code, visual identity and communication system were developed as parts of the same design process—from the logo and signage to posters, billboards and merchandising. Living archive As Hans Hollein argued, “Everything is architecture.” Within Tetra, this statement becomes a method rather than a provocation. The archive is conceived as a living device: not merely a container of memory, but an instrument for constructing the future. As disciplinary boundaries dissolve, the project restores to design its most radical and integral dimension—the one that connects space and sign, matter and interface, content and form. Architecture is in everything. And everything is architecture. credits Project team: Pietro Cazzuffi, Gaia Martin, Federico Martorana, Eleonora Marzolla. Professors: Tommaso Brighenti, Branka Cuca, Nicola Petaccia. Tutors: Arch. Carlo Lucca, Andrea Matta, Nicola Andjelic, Federica Crescini, Luca Gallazzi, Dimitri Nipoti, Tommaso Perasso, Maria Vespasiani. Politecnico di Milano, Final Architectural Design Studio, A.A. 2024/2025.
