The PERISCOPE | Spatial Design | HUB is an international research team based at the Department of Design – Politecnico di Milano.

It functions as a living lens of observation and a radical methodological perspective for the spatial projects of tomorrow. In an era marked by complex, urgent and non-postponable humanitarian and ecological emergencies of ethical and planetary scope, PERISCOPE does not simply analyse problems: it designs new ways of seeing, inhabiting and transforming the spaces we share on Earth.

Operating across transdisciplinary and multi-scale territories — from the intimate dimension of the body and the domestic to the territorial and planetary — the Hub activates agile, purpose-built teams that integrate design, architecture, art, science, technology and social innovation. These ad hoc constellations are formed to carry out applied research for third parties, ranging from commissioned projects developed for institutions, organisations and companies, to unique, experimental and one-off initiatives that deliberately push the boundaries of conventional spatial design.

PERISCOPE | Spatial Design | HUB is articulated through four interconnected clusters that together define its identity, its operational model and its impact:

• PERISCOPE | Research_ The core engine of applied and speculative investigation, where projects for third parties and experimental trajectories take shape.
• PERISCOPE | Teaching_ The space where the methodological lens is transmitted, tested and evolved through advanced educational formats, workshops and international didactic projects.
• PERISCOPE | Collective_ The living network of researchers, designers, artists and thinkers — including young talents in incubation — who form the ad hoc teams and continuously enrich the Hub with diverse perspectives and shared intelligence.
• PERISCOPE | Events_ The public and performative dimension of the Hub: exhibitions, symposia, residencies and interventions that make the research visible, debatable and experiential.

Together, these four clusters transform PERISCOPE into something more than a traditional research hub: a dynamic observatory and a generative platform committed to designing spatial futures that are ecologically responsible, ethically aware and profoundly human, while nurturing the next generation of spatial designers and thinkers.