The plan to redevelop the former Manifattura Tabacchi involves partly knocking down existing structures and converting them into new housing facilities with adjoining retail and leisure services. The project primarily sets out to create a new fragment of the city, creating a powerful counterpoint for the surrounding building fabric and, at the same time, is designed to be an “element” in the system of urban landscaping. For this purpose the plan focuses plenty of attention on open spaces, taken as authentic “connecting tissue” both for existing operations in this sector and relations with the surrounding city. From a typological viewpoint, the project envisages the co-existence of two different models: block building (for the council housing and a small part of the private housing) and courtyard (for most of the private housing): while the block section instantly evokes the design of old warehouses, the courtyard in contrast refers more indirectly to the historical building style in the Po Valley countryside.