Festival TALEA Off 2026

TALEA Fuori Festival is structured over three days of public, scientific, educational and workshop-based activities dedicated to Bologna’s green and climate transition. The programme brings together university research, teaching, public administration, professionals, students, PhD candidates, associations and citizens, with a specific focus on TALEA Green Cells, climate shelters, urban green, light, hidden waters and new forms of liveability in public space.

The initiative is organised in collaboration with UNIBO, the PhD Programme in Architecture and Design Cultures, the international ACPCL programme of the Department of Architecture, the Advanced Design programme of the Department of Architecture, the Municipality of Bologna, Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi, L’Observatoire International, the TALEA project partners, the Order of Architects PPC of Bologna and the Order of Engineers of Bologna.

10 June | Wednesday

Mapping activity using the GreenSpaces app in Via Boldrini and Via Fratelli Rosselli

Time: approximately 09:00–15:00
Meeting point: Via Cesare Boldrini 14, at the Boldrini Ovest garden
Format: field activity / operational workshop
Actors involved: UNIBO, Department of Architecture and DISTAL, R3GIS, FBK, Municipality of Bologna, Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi
Coordination: Alice Bordignon, R3GIS

The day opens with a mapping and urban green inventory activity in the Boldrini Ovest cell and the surrounding areas. The activity introduces participants to the GreenSpaces platform and to its digital tools for surveying, managing and assessing urban green.

The workshop includes:

• tree inventory using the GreenSpaces mobile app, with the collection of GPS coordinates, species, growing site, physiological information, health status and photographic documentation;
• mapping of permeable and impermeable surfaces on paper support, followed by digital restitution;
• visualisation of data in the GreenSpaces dashboard;
• in-depth presentation of the BENEFIT module, dedicated to the assessment of ecosystem services produced by urban green.

The discussion will focus in particular on the environmental and economic benefits associated with trees, including carbon storage and sequestration, oxygen production, removal of atmospheric particulate matter, energy savings, the economic value of annual benefits, the soil sealing index and the biodiversity index.

The activity will conclude with a discussion on the data collected, the quality of the information obtained, the usability of the digital tools and the role of urban green and green corridors as environmental and social infrastructures. In case of bad weather, the activity will be postponed to Friday 19 June, with the same arrangements.

Hidden Waters. Bologna, the Reno and its urban identities

Time: 17:30–19:30
Meeting point: Opificio delle Acque, Bologna
Format: urban talk / urban exploration
Actors involved: Laboratorio del Cammino, Department of Classical Philology and Italian Studies of the University of Bologna, Department of Architecture of the University of Bologna, Canali di Bologna, Arterie APS, WALC – Walking Landscapes of Urban Cultures research project, Order of Architects of Bologna and Foundation of the Architects of Bologna

The activity, also included in the New European Bauhaus Festival 2026, is dedicated to Bologna’s hidden waters and to the historical, environmental and productive role of the urban water system. The focus is on the Reno, the Navile canal and the water infrastructures that have contributed to the construction of Bologna’s urban identity.

The exploration connects the historical and heritage dimension of water with the contemporary challenges of climate transition. The presence of water, often invisible or partially concealed, becomes an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between environmental infrastructures, public space, urban memory, microclimate and new imaginaries of regeneration.

11 June | Thursday

Activity in the Boldrini Ovest cell

Time: 09:30–12:00
Meeting point: Via Cesare Boldrini 14, at the Boldrini Ovest garden
Format: field activity / operational workshop
Actors involved: UNIBO, Municipality of Bologna, Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi

The morning is dedicated to an operational activity in the Boldrini Ovest cell, in continuity with the co-design process developed over the previous months and in preparation for the temporary installation planned for September.

The planting of the Biodiversity Garden plants, led by UNIBO, is planned as the first concrete action for the ecological activation of the cell. The intervention makes it possible to test in situ the role of vegetation as an environmental, educational and relational device, capable of contributing to the construction of urban micro-habitats.

Historic city, new temporalities. Light, greenery and uses of public space between protection and transformation

Time: 16:00–18:30
Venue: Sala Biagi, Salaborsa
Format: study day, lecture and round table

Lecture by Hervé Descottes, in collaboration with Mathilde Rouiller / L’Observatoire International

Time: 16:00–16:30
Format: public lecture
Speaker: Hervé Descottes, in collaboration with Mathilde Rouiller / L’Observatoire International

The lecture introduces a reflection on the role of light as a tool for urban design, heritage enhancement and the construction of new readings of the built landscape. The contribution addresses lighting design as a practice capable of interpreting the city, making its stratifications legible, supporting the use of public space in the evening and night-time hours and engaging with the presence of urban green.

Light is discussed as a perceptual, environmental and civic infrastructure: a tool for orientation, urban quality, safety, accessibility and the care of public space. The lecture is directly connected to the teaching process carried out with the international students of the ACPCL programme and to the mentoring work conducted by L’Observatoire International.

Round table

Time: 16:30–18:30
Venue: Sala Biagi, Salaborsa
Format: round table
Chaired by: Danila Longo with Marco Pretelli

Expected speakers:

• Hervé Descottes, L’Observatoire International;
• Emily Clancy, Municipality of Bologna;
• Giovanni Ginocchini, Municipality of Bologna;
• Francesca Tomba, Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape;
• Marco Pretelli, University of Bologna;
• Marco Filippucci, Foundation of the Architects of Bologna;
• Federico Ospitali, Foundation of the Order of Engineers of Bologna;
• Lorenza Golinelli, I-DEA;
• Leonardo Tedeschi, Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi.

The round table addresses the historic city as a living space, to be protected and enhanced through differentiated, reversible interventions compatible with heritage values. The discussion brings together public policies, heritage protection, university research, architectural professional culture and the international experience of L’Observatoire International.

The main themes concern the 24-hour city, the role of urban green in the creation of climate shelters, light as a tool for heritage enhancement and perceptual safety, light pollution, the compatibility of contemporary devices with historic contexts and the role of architects in guiding light, temporary and reversible transformations.

Dark Bologna: Learning by Mapping. Knowing Bologna through its lights and shadows

Time: 20:30–23:00
Meeting point: Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
Format: night-time urban walk / perceptual mapping
Actors involved: L’Observatoire International, UNIBO, Municipality of Bologna, Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi, students and participants

The day concludes with a night-time urban walk dedicated to the perception of Bologna through light, shadow, atmosphere and spatial experience. The activity considers the night-time city as a field for observation, learning and critical interpretation.

The mapping focuses on how light changes the perception of places, guides movement, produces a sense of safety or insecurity, reveals or conceals elements of heritage, accompanies the presence of vegetation and affects the quality of urban experience.

The route starts from Piazza Maggiore and crosses significant parts of the historic city and the TALEA areas:

• Piazza Maggiore;
• Teatro Comunale;
• Via Indipendenza;
• Parco del Cavaticcio;
• Via Boldrini, TALEA Green Cell 2;
• Via Boldrini, TALEA Green Cell 1.

The walk contributes to building design awareness around the night and feeds into TALEA’s work on the relationship between climate transformation, the quality of public space and new forms of urban liveability.

12 June | Friday

Presentation of student projects and workshop discussion

AD2B. Project presentations

Time: 10:00–12:00
Venue: Sala Biagi, Salaborsa, Bologna
Format: public presentation of student projects
Actors involved: UNIBO, Municipality of Bologna, Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi, Advanced Design students, L’Observatoire International

The morning is dedicated to the presentation of the outcomes of the AD2B studio, with particular attention to services for the TALEA Green Cells and climate shelters. Students present proposals aimed at improving accessibility, understanding, care and use of urban spaces in relation to climate adaptation.

The projects address themes such as:

• inclusive orientation and access to climate shelters;
• tools for civic reporting, light monitoring and care of green spaces and resting areas;
• routes for discovering urban heritage through green spaces and residual urban areas;
• public interpretation of climatic and environmental data;
• accessible communication of urban transformations and adaptation strategies.

The presentation integrates the physical dimension of the Green Cells with the dimension of urban services, highlighting how the effectiveness of climate interventions also depends on their recognisability, accessibility and capacity to be adopted by citizens.

ACPCL. Presentation of Projects and Study Areas

Time: 14:00–18:00
Venue: Sala Biagi, Salaborsa, Bologna
Format: public presentation of student projects / project restitution / workshop discussion
Actors involved: ACPCL students, UNIBO, Municipality of Bologna, L’Observatoire International, Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi

The afternoon is dedicated to the restitution of the design process carried out by the students of the international ACPCL programme. The groups present their interpretations of the study areas, spatial narratives, perceptual and environmental readings, transformation hypotheses and design trajectories connected to the themes of TALEA.

Detailed programme:

• 14:00–16:00: presentation of the results of the TALEA workshop with Hervé Descottes and Mathilde Rouiller of L’Observatoire International, followed by discussion;
• 16:00–17:30: presentation of the exhibition with the posters of the ACPCL course;
• 17:30–18:30: Erasmus students’ examination.

The workshop presents the work developed over the previous months, during which students observed the city through site visits, mapping activities, perceptual analyses and reflections on the relationship between public space, microclimate, light, green space, accessibility and urban heritage.

The initiative is organised in collaboration with UNIBO, the Municipality of Bologna, Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi, L’Observatoire International, the TALEA project partners, the PhD Programme in Architecture and Design Cultures, the ACPCL programme and the Advanced Design programme of the Department of Architecture. Other partners involved include the Order of Architects PPC of Bologna, the Foundation of the Architects of Bologna, the Order of Engineers of Bologna, the Foundation of the Order of Engineers of Bologna, R3GIS, FBK, Canali di Bologna, Arterie APS, Laboratorio del Cammino and the WALC – Walking Landscapes of Urban Cultures research project.