Coiling Connections

Despite being designed for constant movement, Tiburtina Station has unexpectedly become a temporary refuge for migrants due to its strategic location and transportation infrastructure. Mapping the patterns of temporary settlements within the surrounding urban landscape reveals how the natural landscape and the infrastructural highway create distinct zones for both movement and settlement. Migrants often occupy areas beneath the highway network or adjacent green spaces, where visibility is minimized. The goal was to redefine this relationship by establishing a new infrastructural network that integrates, rather than obscures, migrant presence. Instead of existing invisibly within the network, migrants find shelter at its apex—turning infrastructure into refuge. The structure is programmed along its length to serve multiple functions: workshops provide employment opportunities, while a market sells food, art, and textiles crafted by migrants, fostering both cultural exchange and economic self-sufficiency. Open to the public, this market transforms migrants from passive occupants into active participants in the urban fabric. The intervention also enhances the existing site with seating, green spaces, and bike/jogging paths, creating a vibrant hub for social interaction and connectivity. Rather than being a transient, overlooked population, migrants become central to the space—shaping its rhythm and identity. The structure serves as both shelter and cultural nexus, attracting and dispersing people while ensuring a dedicated space for migrants within the city’s infrastructural fabric.