Scala 2005 – 2012

The Colonia Torino, designed by Ettore Sottsass senior in 1938, was abandoned for sixty years. Part of the structure had been destroyed by the local community, which were planning to demolish it altogether. Eventually it has been bought by a private investor and is now converted into a youth hostel.  I reconstructed a prominent feature of the architecture, a spiral staircase. Being the only staircase in the building, it is essential to a complete experience of the complex. I made a wooden replica of the staircase in accordance with the original drawings. The choice of a different material reveals the fragility and temporary nature of the staircase, in contrast to the concrete of the rest of the complex of buildings, which is in keeping with the fascist desire to last forever. In August 2012 I temporarily placed the Scala in its original location.