TIPI
Santi Jonathan Di Paola's thesis project for Città Metropolitana di Torino
Academic year
2023-2024
This thesis explores a new approach to mobility, challenging the current conception of it as merely a quick and efficient movement from point A to point B. Through the "TIPI" project (Temporary Encounter at the Periphery of Imagination), it aims to redefine travel as an imaginative and mindful experience, restoring an active and creative role to humans in the act of moving.
The research's goal is to rethink train travel, specifically along the regional "Turin-Milan" route, using a transdisciplinary approach that integrates principles of mobility with practices of personal introspection. The thesis introduces an innovative model that connects external perceptions of movement — the "affordances" of the physical and social landscape — with the internal processes of self-reflection experienced by the traveler, creating an "imaginative journey." This model serves both as a canvas and a guide for organizing content that enriches the journey with sensory and meditative elements.
Through critical analysis and experimentation, the thesis aims to transform mobility from a purely functional and secularized experience into a journey rich in meaning and reflection, where the traveler’s inner voice becomes an integral part of the experience itself.
Recently, the Metropolitan City of Turin published the Urban Plan for Sustainable Mobility (PUMS), a document outlining ambitious future goals for the development and organization of mobility in the region. While the objectives to be achieved by 2030 may be clear at a general level, the path to achieving them is much less defined. Thanks to the technical and territorial analysis from the Links Foundation, valuable insights were obtained into the current state of mobility in the region and all ongoing projects. The theses in Transdisciplinary Design analyze these future mobility goals through a transdisciplinary lens to unveil new opportunities and potential to achieve them in innovative ways.
Thesis Supervisor: Wouter Haspeslagh
Assistant Supervisor: Lowie Vermeersch, Michael Kaethler
