June 13 2026, 10:00 am – 10:00 pm, green area surrounding the padel courts at the Bovisa La Masa Campus, entrance from Via Privata Giampietrino 4, Milan
GOCCIA Fest 26 - La Natura si fa Spazio is the first public event organised as part of the EUI 02-130 GOCCIA project (Green Opportunities to Clean-up Contaminants through an Interspecies Alliance), funded by the European Urban Initiative of the European Commission. The festival takes place during Milano Green Week and is part of the satellite events network of the New European Bauhaus Festival 2026.
The European project actively involves several Departments of Politecnico di Milano – Design, DAStU, DENG and DEIB – in a transdisciplinary initiative dedicated to the ecological and social regeneration of the forest through research activities, design practices, environmental monitoring, and educational experimentation.
The festival is a full day dedicated to exploring urban biodiversity and the relationship between cities, people, and nature. It has been designed as a collective journey of discovery, awareness, and engagement around the Goccia area.
The festival aims to introduce the city to the Goccia site, the biodiversity that characterises it, and the environmental regeneration process currently underway. It is an opportunity to reconnect with this place, discover its ecological value, and begin building a shared culture of care and responsibility to protect it today and in the future. The programme includes activities for children, families, and adults: educational workshops, participatory labs, guided explorations (bioblitzes) within the Goccia area, talks, artistic and creative activities, live music, and convivial moments throughout the day.
The event is open to everyone and free of charge. Please note that some activities require registration via Eventbrite.
Ahead of the event, participants are warmly invited to complete a short questionnaire (in Italian only) exploring perceptions of spontaneous urban nature.
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Coltivando. L’orto conviviale al Politecnico di Milano
When: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 1.00 pm / 4.00 pm - 7.00 pm
Where: Green area surrounding the padel courts at the Bovisa Campus of Politecnico di Milano. Entrance from Via Privata Giampietrino 4, Milan.
'Coltivando, the shared garden of Politecnico di Milano', a local initiative that has been promoting shared cultivation practices and moments of gathering around greenery for years, will take part in the Festival with an information booth and an open workshop on sowing and transplanting. Visitors will have the chance to get their hands in the soil, experience small acts of care, and take home a seedling.
It will also be possible to join a guided tour of the garden, accompanied by the research team. The meeting point is at the stand, from which the garden can be reached with a 20-minute walk.
Curated by: Coltivando.
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Design for Placemaking: le idee degli studenti per la Goccia
When: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 1.00 pm
Where: Green area surrounding the padel courts at the Bovisa Campus of Politecnico di Milano. Entrance from Via Privata Giampietrino 4, Milan.
An interactive installation presenting the projects of 40 international students from the Master’s Degree in Interior and Spatial Design at Politecnico di Milano, developed for the Goccia area. The projects explore new ways of inhabiting and designing spaces, focusing on the coexistence of humans, flora, fauna, and digital agents.
Starting from a study of the park’s ecosystem, the students developed design proposals based on a dialogue with the existing environment. At the core of the projects are immersive paths that combine physical experiences and spatial devices to encourage discovery, learning, and awareness of biodiversity. The proposals address four main themes: sharing knowledge about the environment and species (educational), navigating and interpreting the site (wayfinding), imagining new activities and roles that could emerge in the Goccia area (jobs), and making the space accessible, livable, and enjoyable (recreational).
The installation is organized into 10 interactive stations featuring sketches, models, prototypes, renderings, and videos. Visitors are invited to freely explore the projects and share feedback with the students, contributing to the development of the proposals.
Curated by: Davide Fassi, Emma Puerari and Irene Bassi.
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Mobile Unit GOCCIA: dall'esplorazione alla progettazione
When: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM–1:00 PM / 4:00 PM–7:00 PM
Where: Green area around the padel courts at the Politecnico di Milano Bovisa Campus, Via Privata Giampietrino 4, Milan.
GOCCIA Fest 26 will present the “Mobile Unit”, a small mobile infrastructure designed to accompany groups and explore the Goccia area. Developed through the creativity of students from the School of Design at Politecnico di Milano within the “Passion in Action” initiative titled “Design Challenge – Pimp Our Cart!”, the mobile unit is conceived as an educational and citizen science tool that supports educational, scientific, artistic, and participatory experiences. During the Festival, the prototype of the mobile unit will be exhibited, offering visitors the opportunity to observe and understand how this infrastructure was conceived and designed to integrate principles of more-than-human design.
Throughout the festival, visitors will be able to explore the prototype, learn about the design process, and discover the different ideas developed by the students.
Curated by Francesco Vergani, Samuele Della Pietra, Joana Lourenço De Sousa Bento and Deniz Küçük, with students from Politecnico di Milano.
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Tempi naturali: esploriamo le diverse temporalità della natura
When: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Where: Green area around the padel courts at the Politecnico di Milano Bovisa Campus, Via Privata Giampietrino 4, Milan.
This workshop helps children and families understand how mosquitoes, humans, and oak trees perceive time in completely different ways, and how this awareness can change the way we move through and relate to nature.
The workshop is divided into two phases:
- In the first phase — “Seeing Time” — long colored ribbons placed on the ground allow participants to physically visualize how much “weight” 20 minutes carries in the life of a mosquito (which lives only a few days), a child, or a centuries-old oak tree.
- In the second phase — “Acts of Care” — participants collectively imagine concrete practices for respecting the temporalities of different species when visiting the Goccia area: how to avoid being invasive, how to attune to nature, and what gestures of care can be adopted.
Curated by Beatrice Villari and Chiara Antonutti, with the support of students from the Product Service System Design course.
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Oltre l’umano: un panel transdisciplinare per governare la biodiversità urbana
When: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Time: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Where: Sala Consiglio – EN | Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Building 31, Via Raffaele Lambruschini 18–22, Milan.
This public event brings together institutions, policymakers, researchers, and the local community to openly explore the governance of urban nature, starting from the experience of the GOCCIA project and the Milanese context. The discussion will provide an accessible yet rigorous reflection on how cities can integrate a more-than-human perspective into policies, planning, and territorial management.
The panel will address three key issues for the future of sustainable cities: the social acceptance of biodiversity in urban environments, the role of urban planning tools, and innovative governance practices. The GOCCIA project will serve as a starting point for a broader reflection on the opportunities and challenges of urban biodiversity governance in Milan and beyond.
Curated by Eugenio Morello, Davide Fassi, Emma Puerari.