Leonardo Ramondetti, architect, Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Development from Politecnico di Torino and Università di Torino, Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST). His field of research is contemporary urban design theories and planning cultures, with particular focus on the processes of urbanisation and infrastructurisation in different global contexts. He is the coordinator of the research activities at the China Room research group. Between 2015 and 2019 he participated in the research ‘CeNTO - Chinese New Towns: Negotiating Citizenship and Physical Form’, carried out by Politecnico di Torino, Tsinghua University of Beijing, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale of Lausanne, which led to the publication of
The City after Chinese New Towns: Spaces and Imaginaries from Contemporary Urban China (Birkhäuser, 2019). As a postdoctoral scholar, he is currently working at the research project of national relevance (PRIN) ‘Rescaling the Belt and Road Initiative: urbanization processes, innovation patterns and global investments in urban China’ (2020-2023) carried out by Politecnico di Torino and Università di Macerata. He is the author of the book
The Enriched Field: Urbanising the Central Plains of China (Birkhäuser, 2022).
EDUCATION
Current position: Adjunct Professor at Università di Bologna and Post-Doc Researcher at Politecnico di Torino Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning
Main Research project: Rescaling the Belt and Road Initiative: urbanization processes, innovation patterns and global investments in urban China (2020-2023)
Grant: Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research - Research Project of National Relevance (PRIN)
2020 | Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Development
Achieved on June 15th, 2020, at Politecnico di Torino and Università di Torino, Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning
Title of the dissertation: The Enriched Field. Urbanising the Central Plains of China
Supervisor: Prof. Angelo Sampieri | Co-supervisor: Prof. Francesca Governa
The thesis has been awarded with the Honorable Mention by the doctoral commission Profs Bertrando Giuseppe Bonfantini (Politecnico di Milano, Italy), Pierre-Alain Croset (Politecnico di Milano, Italy), Timothy Oakes (University of Colorado Boulder, USA), Xuefei Ren (Michigan State University, USA), Matteo Robiglio (Politecnico di Torino, Italy).
The thesis has been awarded with the Quality Award 2019 by the Ph.D Program in Urban and Regional Development of Politecnico di Torino and Università di Torino.
2014 | Master Degree in Architecture
Achieved on December 17th,2014, at Politecnico di Torino, First Faculty of Architecture, program 'Architettura Costruzione Città'
Graduation mark: 110/110 cum laude, and recommended for publication
VISITING PERIOD
02-07|2023 Visiting presso il Laboratoire Techniques, Territoires et Sociétés (LATTS), Paris (France)
Université Gustave Eiffel, École des Ponts ParisTech e Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Contact Person: Prof. Olivier Coutard
04-05|2019 Visiting Ph. D at Tsinghua University, Beijing (China)
Tsinghua University School of Architecture
Contact Person: Prof. Zhong Ge
09-12|2017 Visiting Ph. D at Tsinghua University, Beijing (China)
Tsinghua University School of Architecture
Contact Person: Prof. Zhong Ge
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Between 2014 and 2022 he has been teaching assistent in urban planning and design in several courses at Politecnico di Torino, where he has the opportunity to work with international designers such as Prof. Gong Dong - Vector Architects.
Together with Prof. Angelo Sampieri, he supervise a series of theses on 'Living and designing the contemporary agrarian landscape'; and he took part in the master thesis laboratory 'Prosperous Lishui: A project for suburban China' (2021-2022) coordinated by Prof.s Michele Bonino and Angelo Sampieri.
RESEARCH BY DESIGN AND EXHIBITIONS
2020-2022 | Project: Prosperous Lishui. A project for suburban China
Universities: Politecnico di Torino (DIST + DAD + China Room research group + IAM),
and South China University of Technology, Guangzhou
Coordinators: Prof.s Michele Bonino, and Angelo Sampieri
Promoters: Lishui Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Dwellings in Lishui Mountains Project Planning and Construction Leading Group Office
Organiser: Shanghai One-Tenth Art Space Co., Ltd.
Award: Third Prize in the international urban planning and design competition 'Future ShanShui City: Dwellings in Lishui Mountains'
Jury Panel: Nishizawa Ryue (SANAA), Yansong Ma (Mad Architects), Shiling Zheng, Kai Cui, Zhiqiang Wu, Alan J. Plattus, Jiaming Cao, Jian Zhou, Weidong Ma
2019-2021 | Exhibition: China Goes Urban. The city to come/China Goes Urban. La nuova epoca delle città
Period: October 16th, 2020 - October 10th, 2021
Location: Museo di Arte Orientale (MAO), Turin
University: Politecnico di Torino (DIST + DAD + China Room research group)
Scientific Partner: Tsinghua University of Beijing
Coordinators: Prof.s Michele Bonino, Francesco Carota, and Francesca Governa
Institutional Partners and Research Grant: Intesa Sanpaolo, Città di Torino, Regione Piemonte, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT
Promoters and Organisers: Fondazione Torino Musei, Museo di Arte Orientale (MAO)
2016-2017 | Project: Yanzhou Island. Preserving heritage and rural areas inside new towns
University: Politecnico di Torino (DIST + DAD + DIATI + China Room research group)
Coordinators: Profs Michele Bonino, Francesca Governa, Angelo Sampieri
Promoter: Zhaoqing New Area Administration, Zhaoqing Municipality
