In Venice, the phenomenon of urban depopulation is primarily attributed to overtourism, which has led to a decline in the local community and the closure of identity-defining services, such as artisan workshops, thereby reducing urban vitality in favor of tourism. However, urban regeneration experiences in many European cities demonstrate that it is possible to implement requalification processes with a positive impact on entire neighborhoods and the city as a whole, ultimately helping to reverse the depopulation trend in Venice.

The thesis project considers the Ex Scalera Film area on the Giudecca island as a significant site for exploring the potential of a marginal area to become a new urban fragment of economic and social regeneration. The Scalera facilities arrived in Venice to bring a part of Cinecittà to the lagoon city, but they were abandoned shortly after the end of the war. The buildings were repurposed in anticipation of a new project that was never realized due to the failure of the owning company. Currently, the area is in a state of abandonment and decay. The thesis interprets the area's productive past and the remnants left behind as a blueprint for proposing a mixed-use neighborhood—combining residential and productive functions—with low-cost apartments, co-living housing options, communal spaces, and areas for learning and work. It is planned to recover and enhance the existing structures by integrating them with green spaces, urban agriculture, and new architecture that meets the criteria of the green transition outlined in the 2023 Agenda, from material selection to rainwater collection and reuse systems inspired by tradition.

In addition to housing, the project foresees coworking spaces, workshop areas, green roofs, urban gardens, and a market for local and lagoon products produced within a zero-kilometer radius. The workshop areas are dedicated not only to the learning of traditional Venetian artisan crafts but also to activities related to the digital world and culture, in remembrance of the cinematic heritage that once characterized the area. The restoration of the ruins of the old filming theater includes a wooden structure designed to engage residents in a process of self-construction, thereby creating a landmark and meeting point for the entire Giudecca island and fostering a renewed, strong sense of belonging and community.

The thesis project aligns with the best urban practices worldwide and, in particular, with the values of the New European Bauhaus (NEB). The NEB is an interdisciplinary initiative by the European Commission aimed at creating a cultural movement to support the implementation of the European Green Deal, whose primary objective is to transform Europe into the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. In addition to pursuing the three fundamental NEB values—beautiful, sustainable, together—the project intends to create a foundation for a possible participatory co-creation process based on the three principles of the NEB management framework. The tool used for defining an NEB project is the “Compass,” which outlines three levels of ambition for each value. To achieve the highest level of ambition, the thesis project consists of public spaces for the community and private living spaces designed to encourage social and generational mixing, citizen involvement in decision-making, transdisciplinary engagement, and multilayered organization, in order to create an exemplary project for Venice that can be replicated in other European cities. The ultimate goal of this design approach is to add a piece of urbanity that, albeit modest, aspires to contribute to reversing the depopulation trend by proposing an innovative way of inhabiting the city while upholding the values of the NEB.