Coriandoline, a little town designed entirely by children near Correggio (Reggio Emilia), has now been officially inaugurated. The innovative project took off in 1995 when local nursery schoolchildren were asked to designed the kind of house they would like to live in. The children duly presented their proposals, which included: a transparent house, so that I could look out and see if the sun was shining or if it was raining, a secret place where I could go in and out whenever I wanted, a house that was soft inside, a house with stairs and a chute and a house decorated with precious stones. The plans, which were duly drawn up by professional architects following the childrens specifications, were awarded the Peggy Guggenheim prize in 2001 and actual building began in 2003. The town now consists of ten individual houses and ten apartments, all highly colourful and individualistic, with brightly painted facades and surrounded by gardens and playing fields. Coriandoline is now considered a model quarter for the quality of life it offers. In fact, its whimsical houses, designed by the child architects, are much sought after, not only by families with children, but also by couples and singles.
