RAB-WeMi San Gottardo was conceived as a pilot project for innovating forms and places for the access to welfare services. The design of the space features the combination of two different functions: a social service and a commercial activity (a café). The rational of the project is to explore and exploit the added value of this mix. The paper presents: 1) the solutions that provided a spatial answer to different issues (and potential conflicts), 2) the elements that define the identity of the two different activities and a taxonomy of the corresponding architectural elements, 3) the limits of the project, that is to say at which extent the architectural project is defined and which space is left to its appropriation by the users starting from the co-design and implementation phase
Keywords: Co-design; welfare spaces; service design