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KEY PROJECT
STRUCTURING A NEW PIECE OF CITY
HOW CAN URBAN DEVELOPMENT BE STRUCTURED THROUGH ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS?
LE ALBERE
Mixed-Use District
Key facts
Location: Trento - Italy
Client: Renzo Piano Building Workshop - Genova
Period: 2007-2004
Project services: Landscape consultancy
Work progress status: Completed
Brief description:
At Le Albere, the transformation of a former industrial site is used to construct a new piece of city, designed to support long-term urban and ecological development rather than a single phase of regeneration.
The project was designed by Renzo Piano, and developed as a complete urban district rather than as an isolated architectural intervention.
The former Michelin site in Trento (approximately 11 hectares) is restructured as a new urban matrix in which buildings, public space, mobility, and landscape operate as a single system. Clear spatial rules—block structure, public-space continuity, ground permeability, and environmental integration—allow different programmes and future adaptations to occur within a coherent framework.
The programme includes approximately 300 residential units and around 30,000 sqm of office and retail space, integrated with an extensive public-realm system of comparable scale. Streets, squares, pedestrian and cycling networks function as primary urban infrastructure, while parking provision (approximately 2,000 spaces) is integrated to limit ground-level fragmentation.
The park system, covering approximately 5 hectares, forms a central structural element of the district. The main park opens directly onto the river Adige, incorporating the river corridor as a strategic ecological and spatial asset that supports environmental continuity, microclimate regulation, and public accessibility at the scale of the city.
Landscape operates as an urban ecological infrastructure, structuring water management, vegetation systems, climate regulation, and everyday use. Through this approach, the site becomes a framework capable of guiding future growth, accommodating change while maintaining spatial and ecological coherence.
At transitional zones, spatial relationships and infrastructures reveal how territory is structured and how urban and landscape systems interact.
MUSE
Museum of Science
Key facts
Location: Trento - Italy
Client: Renzo Piano Building Workshop - Genova
Period: 2007-2004
Project services: Landscape consultancy
Work progress status: Completed
Brief description:
Within this framework, MUSE functions as a civic and cultural anchor embedded in the same urban and ecological structure. Located at the northern edge of the site, the museum connects the Le Albere district, the riverfront park, and the historic Palazzo delle Albere.
Aligned with the district’s primary pedestrian axis, the building contributes to the continuity of public space across the site. At ground level, the central hall operates as a permeable civic interior, extending the public realm and supporting interaction between indoor and outdoor environments.
Architectural form and environmental systems are integrated with the surrounding landscape. The water basin at the base of the building supports microclimate regulation and reinforces spatial continuity between the museum, public spaces, and the river corridor.
Together, Le Albere and MUSE demonstrate a transferable approach to urban development in which ecological processes, public space, and urban form are aligned to support future city growth under changing environmental and social conditions.