The Monotown: A Story Between Birth and Collapse of an Idea Part 2 Project 2020 Attilio Bonelli Polytechnic University of Milan | Italy Between birth and collapse of an idea, there lies a story.This diploma work is set in Svobodny, a remote single-industry town slated to become one of the fastest-growing industrial hubs in the whole Russia. While largest cities continue attracting more and more economic and human resources, monotowns are facing an outflow of population and are sinking into desolation.Svobodny was a typical example of a small industrial city in decline: after its manufacturing plants began closing in the early 1990s, its population drastically dropped. Here, gas giant Gazprom has begun the construction of the largest gas plant in the country, which would cause the population to double after reaching full capacity in 2025.The urban transformation is based on the master plan developed by AHML along with Strelka KB. Svobodny should start to come alive again, or at least this is what forecasts say. What would have happened, if the biggest company in Russia had not invested in this city? In such speculative scenario, one wonders if an architectural strategy could be possibly developed to save not one, but the majority of monotowns from their natural erosion.This is where a story begins: the story of Fantastica. Attilio Bonelli Tutor(s) Alessandro De Magistris Oscar Raulievich Mamleev