Application for the project of conversion of Palazzo del Ghiaccio,La Spezia in student house at the Housing Call

The hall of residence has been established in La Spezia to address an urgent social need. The city currently offers no specific housing solutions for university students, resulting in high demand for accommodation among students attending the University and the Conservatoire.

The project aims to restore a building with its own historical identity to the city through a development that fully complies with planning guidelines and urban regulations, and is consistent with the design principles suggested by key EU policies: the enhancement and adaptive reuse of existing buildings to meet the current needs of the local area. This will ensure minimal use of resources whilst repurposing the building, thereby restoring it to its former glory. The project will also deliver a high level of energy efficiency in line with the environmental objectives of maximum sustainability set out in the DNSH guidelines: following the works, the building will be upgraded to energy class A3 (from its current class E).

Throughout 2025, we worked alongside Fondazione Carispezia to put together their application for the MUR Housing Call for Proposals, focusing on project coordination, an analysis of local needs and the economic and financial sustainability of the initiative, which resulted in the award of a grant of approximately €1.2 million.