Francesco Ioriatti
ArchitectFading Thresholds [A Journey of Self]
FINALIST of London Urban Retreat: Haggerston Public Baths
+ FINALIST
London Urban Retreat: Haggerston Public Baths
[19737]
Fading Thresholds [A Journey of Self]
Team
Name: Francesco Ioriatti
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/francesco_ioriatti
Nationality: Italy
Institution: Politecnico di Milano
Name: Carlo Maria Gagliardi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilcarlettofotografoditurno
Nationality: Italy
Institution: Politecnico di Milano
Conceived as vibrant and dynamic spaces, but also frenetic and demanding, cities often absorb parts of the individual that are difficult to regain on one’s own. The role of a space conceived as an urban retreat is to allow the individual to reclaim themselves and what they have lost.
The project fading thresholds reimagines the former Haggerston baths as a sanctuary of introspection and self-expression, a decompression journey designed to reclaim the self from the erosion of urban frenzy. Rather than a sharp rupture from the city, the architecture guides the individual through a rhythmic sequence of thresholds with progressively decreasing social intensity.
The climax of this progression is the where the central pool used to be, now a glass cube conceived as a core of absolute isolation. Immersed in silence and protected nature, the individual finally reaches the contemplative state necessary to regain control over their own life. Through this deliberate layering, the project transforms architecture into a healing process, leading the visitor from the complexity of the metropolis to the essential purity of the central void.






Jury Comments
– Josefine Fokdal
This project is thought as a journey – like an onion – in which each layer invites to more reflection and recreation. An actual spatial program is missing.
Responses