Ferrara Cool Refuge

Finalist project

Call for proposals for the design of climate-resilient shelters

Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PAC) for the UNESCO site in Ferrara

Italy’s historic centres preserve the memory of our cities, but today they are also the places most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Designed in eras when the relationship between architecture, public space and nature responded to profoundly different needs, they are now facing increasingly intense heatwaves, extreme weather events and a gradual decline in urban comfort. The challenge is twofold: to preserve their historical value but also to give citizens back the opportunity to experience them fully, so that they continue to be places for meeting, socialising and discovery.

COOL REFUGE goes beyond the concept of the climate refuge as an isolated feature and introduces a new urban infrastructure: a continuous network of cool, accessible and recognisable spaces that guides people as they make their way through the city, offering comfort, shade and wellbeing just a few minutes’ nearby.

The strategy is structured across complementary levels. The first involves the network of Cool Hubs, enhancing existing resources (libraries, courtyards, public gardens, arcades, and school gardens open during the summer and at weekends). These places constitute an existing heritage that needs to be made recognisable, accessible and interconnected through a unified visual identity. This network is complemented by ongoing initiatives involving the removal of paving, afforestation, rain gardens (all of which have already been successfully trialled in many Italian and European cities such as Milan, Rome, Lyon and Barcelona) and the regeneration of the Darsena.
The second introduces Cool Cells: mobile, ‘nomadic’, reconfigurable and flexible elements (platforms on wheels, trees in large pots, adjustable seating, misting systems and shading devices) designed to bring greenery and shade to places where permanent installations are not possible. The entire system is designed in accordance with the principles of Design for All: every climate shelter is free, inclusive and easily accessible. It is complemented by a digital wayfinding system and sensors that monitor temperature and air quality, feeding data into a platform that suggests the shadiest routes.

COOL REFUGE reimagines the climate refuge as a new form of public infrastructure that brings together heritage, nature and innovation: the true refuge is not a building, but a city that has learnt to adapt without ceasing to be itself.