La terra straniera è pur sempre anche ospizio di desideri

The article synthesises two research initiatives conducted in the Department of Architecture at the University of Palermo. The initial experience is attributed to Professor Pasquale Culotta, who, from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, integrated numerous ethnic groups of foreigners residing in the historic core of Palermo into his architectural design workshops. In the four mandates of the historic city centre, Culotta, along with cultural mediator Syrus Nikkho, photographer Giovanni Chiaramonte, and sociologist Maria Letizia Montalbano, looked at the potential of converting students’ design exercises into substantive research on inter-ethnic architecture. The aspirations and cultural practices of diverse ethnic groups have served as the tangible catalyst for students’ design explorations, leading to remarkable outcomes. The article also features an overview of Daniele Roccaro’s dissertation research focused on the experience of the Saharawi (Inhabiting the desert. The experience of the Saharawis in the hammāda of Tindouf in Algeria). In the thesis supervised by Andrea Sciascia, the requirements of the nomadic population were extensively examined through a detailed analysis of the current state of things, followed by several project proposals addressing landscape, urban, and architectural scales.