Places, Spaces and Thresholds of the ‘Other’

Editorial

Issue No. 4 of the Journal of Architectural Design and History addresses the theme of places of exclusion within cities and territories, in relation to architectural heritage and the built environment. Through a collection of essays and contributions, this issue explores the topic in its broadest interpretative sense, demonstrating that it cannot be confined to a single definition. It highlights how contemporary challenges call for a repositioning of our perspective on the concept of exclusion in its various forms – urban, social, political, ritual, and beyond.

The Essay by Images develops a narrative through an artistic photographic approach, focusing on a recent exhibition that redefined the role of architectural imagery produced by patients in former Italian psychiatric asylums. It reveals the imaginative power of a reality beyond the walls of confinement.

In her introductory essay, Giuseppina Scavuzzo draws attention to the relevance of the issue within architecture, emphasizing a paradigm shift in the conception of otherness – not as a condition of diversity, but as one of possibility. This shift opens up the field for critically designed values of disruption, precisely through the “deviance” of heterotopia in relation to the domain of technique.

The call for papers resulted in fourteen essays covering geographical areas across all continents, offering a selective yet global perspective on the topic. Approximately half of the contributions originate from Italian research, highlighting the strong relevance of the subject in architectural discourse, both from design and historical standpoints.

The architecture of “total institutions” plays a predominant role, beginning with articles on prisons by Gjiltinë Isufi and Gianfranco Orsenigo. Isufi reveals the hidden spatial dynamics within the architectural spaces of Gjilan Prison in Kosovo, while Orsenigo presents an applied research project on San Vittore Prison in Milan, aimed at transforming spaces of confinement into places of community engagement through the use of art.

Another important section, introduced by essays from Eliana Martinelli and Simone Barbi, focuses on ongoing research into the urban and architectural role of mental health facilities in Italy following the closure of psychiatric hospitals under the 1978 Basaglia Law. Martinelli’s work aligns with the urban regeneration strategies inspired by the design theory of Florentine master Giovanni Michelucci. Barbi, on the other hand, explores the analogical reuse potential of an abandoned pavilion from a former mental hospital in Siena.

With regard to typological transformation, Ginevra Rossi highlights the value of continuity in the architectural form of the cloister, focusing on the policy of repurposing convent buildings implemented under Austrian rule in Lombardy at the end of the 19th century. Continuing the historical analysis of how forms acquire new meanings over time, Amalya Feldman examines how the wall on Carrer de Vent in Palma de Mallorca gained commemorative value for the religious community during the transformation of a synagogue into a church.

Taking a different approach, Tara Bissett contextualizes the positivist role of female reformers, illustrating the relationship between living spaces and the educational objectives of the re-education process. Exclusion as a temporary space for learning is also the focus of Teresa Serrano Avilés, who explores the case of the Alami Farm School, founded in 1949 in Jericho, Palestine, to foster a regenerative and ecological landscape culture while providing a place of refuge for its community.

The controversial issue of temporary exclusion in the context of political asylum is examined by Giulia Furlotti, who highlights the critical shortcomings of spaces intended to provide refuge—places that often end up isolating individuals for extended periods rather than fostering integration.

Luis Felipe Flores Garzón and Angela Person present another complex and ambiguous case, addressing the tension between protection and marginalization through the lens of traditional housing for Indigenous populations threatened by the industrialization of the Amazon rainforest.

Turning to Brazilian cities, Eduardo Mantoan and Paulo H. Soares de Oliveira Jr. provide a precise analysis of the consequences of the 1964 dictatorship on the diminishing social role of architectural design. They highlight how this shift contributed to the rise of elite compounds in contrast to marginalized suburbs, while also asserting the continued relevance of architecture’s democratic potential today.

Regarding Italian suburbs, Anna Veronese compares two projects by Mario Fiorentino which – despite aiming to integrate new neighborhoods into the expanding city – ultimately exemplify the marginalization of peripheral areas. In contrast, the unusual case of Villaggio Coppola-Pinetamare, analyzed by Giorgia Strano, reflects the aspiration to create a settlement for an elite community, introducing an unexpected model of tourism to the Campania coastline.

Finally, Fabio Gigone's article also addresses elitism and voluntary seclusion, examining living conditions in the Vatican during the Conclave and offering a reflection on the spatial and temporal pressures embedded in the ritual of electing the Pope.

Among the editorial contributions is a transcription of Des Espaces Autres, a lecture delivered by Michel Foucault in 1967, in which the French philosopher offers an in-depth reflection on the concept of heterotopias.

As part of the editorial team's Recommended section, we highlight three books. Beatrice Moretti revisits Allan Sekula’s Fish Story (1995), an intense and multifaceted photographic research project that explores the global shipping industry and its implications for labor, capital, and the environment. Francesca Giudetti, questioning the place of women in cities designed by and for men, reviews one of the most influential feminist urban studies publications in recent years: Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-made World by Leslie Kern. Finally, The Houses of Others: The Touristification of Naples' City Center and Public Policies in the Age of AirBnB by Alessandra Esposito, introduced by Rosa Sessa, analyzes the issue of overtourism as a driving force behind the forced displacement and exclusion of local residents from the heart of their cities.

To summarize, drawing on categories proposed by thinkers such as Erving Goffman – who, in his seminal book Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates (1961), introduces the concept of 'total institutions' – and Michel Foucault – who, in Des espaces autres (1967), theorizes spaces ‘outside of all places,’ or heterotopias – the ADH Journal approaches the theme of exclusion from multiple and diverse perspectives. While not aiming to offer a definitive conclusion on the topic, the editorial team and the authors have sought to bring the issue of exclusion to the forefront of the debate, drawing attention to the urgent need to rethink contemporary urban paradigms, which remain, unfortunately, strongly tied to heterotopic prototypes.