La Città dei Matti: design, facilitation and communication for the Nuovo Circondario Imolese

The Complesso dell’Osservanza opened in Imola in 1890 as a provincial psychiatric hospital, becoming one of the most important mental institutions in Italy. Formally closed in 1996, it is now undergoing redevelopment through the Integrated Urban Plans forming part of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

As part of these renovations, in agreement with the Comune di Imola, Con.Ami and Ausl Imola, the Nuovo Circondario Imolese presented the project “La Città dei Matti: working towards a workshop on the history of psychiatry in Imola”, financed through the Regione Emilia-Romagna’s Call for Proposals and aimed at establishing the workshop inside halls 10-12 at the Osservanza.

The project consists of a participatory workshop that will end in September 2024, through which local stakeholders will revive the historical memory and collective legacy of the Complesso dell’Osservanza, restoring a symbolic place in the history of psychiatry in Imola to the community.

The project involves workshops and co-design meetings, aimed at establishing the content and evaluating how the workshop should be run, and a final event to publicly present the results achieved. Facilitation work was therefore required in order to manage the meetings.

BAM! was commissioned to design and facilitate the participatory process, also taking care of its graphic identity and communication, developing three macro areas of action:

• Designing the process and individual co-participation activities, establishing operational methods, methodologies and tools
• Coordinating and facilitating the design meetings devoted to the key topics pertaining to the process and the final report event
• Preparing the project’s visual identity and producing the communication content

BAM! also monitors the meetings and outcomes, which will be collected in an explanatory document at the end of the process and presented to the public.

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