CivicoZero Torino, active since 2015 on a partnership with the Municipality, is a fundamental safeguard for minors and newly adult migrants, offering a safe place where they can find support and growth opportunities. The center provides essential services such as showers, laundry, clean clothes and health and legal counseling, operating from a perspective of risk prevention in relation to life on the streets. Alongside these services there are activities for social inclusion and integration, including language classes, creative workshops and pathways to employment guidance and accompaniment.

The redevelopment project transformed the existing building into a welcoming, flexible and multipurpose space designed to adapt to the needs of both beneficiaries and operators. The rooms, distributed in succession without a central corridor, allow for a fluid and versatile use of space: a reconfigurable teaching room, interview and meeting areas, and offices for the center’s management. Mobile and modular furniture allows spaces to be quickly adapted to different activities, ensuring maximum functionality.

Great attention was paid to accessibility, including the elimination of all architectural barriers. The entrance has been realigned with the street level, while new reinforced concrete ramps on the courtyard side allow the overcoming of height discrepancies. To improve environmental comfort, an aerated under-floor cavity with reinforced slab and thermal insulating screed was built, optimizing energy efficiency and providing healthier interiors. Interventions on openings improved natural lighting and ventilation, eliminating the immediate need for mechanical air exchange systems.

The center’s visual identity has been upgraded through a branding design that makes it instantly recognizable in the urban context. Window decals applied to the fixtures and shutters, a new paint job on the building’s baseboard, and the installation of a plaque with the partners’ logos reinforce the sense of belonging and visibility. Even during closing hours, the presence of the logos on the shutters, applied with special paints and stencils, keeps the message of hospitality and inclusion alive.

This architectural intervention not only enhances the functionality of the center, but transforms it into a symbolic place of protection and opportunity for Turin’s migrant youth. The attention to spatial details, accessibility, and quality of the built environment reflects CivicoZero’s mission: to create a space that is not just a shelter, but a starting point for a new future.