The re-use of the “B-zone" district, former hub of the well-known Officine Pellizzari e figli company, reveals itself through the progressive change of scale from the urban one to the more detailed one. The aim is to reach the best match within the context, which requires an overlook at an urban level in order to encourage the social re-activation, taking into account both the actual degradation of the area and its potential.
The design of a multifunctional complex is indeed an opportunity for the establishment of a new polarity that attracts and changes the existing flows of the city. Without adding any new volume the project aims to give a new face to the ex-industrial site and contribute to its regeneration.
The intermediate level of the project involves the main building of the “B-zone”, already in use with the new functions and the addition of a new layer, the outside basement, which solves the difference in height between the internal spaces and the external public area and the street. The relationship between the inside and the outside is reached through the large handcrafted steel window frames.
The detailed scale completes the project of a new volume -as the FINAL OUTCOME of the whole process- that hosts the AMAA Workshop. An independent box that seeks relationships with the geometries of the existing vaults of the building and of its materials -cement, steel, corrugated sheets, glass, marble and wood-, which refer to the industrial tradition of the site.
The space in the basement, used in the past for pump testing, has been converted into servant spaces, such as toilets, storage, facilities and kitchen, and interpreted as part of the solid base from which the volume of the new concrete staircase comes out. On this, the regular structure rises up to two levels: the upper one is wider in height and in surface.
The slender steel elements define the structural skeleton of the volume but also the perimeter of the window frames, which maintains a complete transparency between the existing space and the addition, thus not altering the complete perception of the industrial building.
Architecture is the result of a complex phase, such as the project. It is not a unique and linear process but it is based on the continuous review of multiple options available always keeping a critical attitude. This is a peculiar practice manner based on the primary role of the IDEA in the process. The act of DOING is also fundamental and researches a balance between the three steps of working on architecture: theory, order and the final outcome. Each one keeps the essence of the original idea and gradually becomes more precise and developed until the project reaches the realization. Theory is a synthesis in the making of the background made of models, references, words and other contributions coming from other disciplines, all weaved together.
Order transforms this background into design weaving a deep connection with the city, its history and its layers. The real challenge is to preserve the essence of that idea during the entire process, from the first sketch to the detailed constructive drawings and finally during the construction on site (the final outcome).
The reciprocity that binds AMAA and the client is fundamental, as already demonstrated by illustrious collaborations such as, for example, the relationship between Carlo Scarpa and Adriano Olivetti. Sharing values has effectively laid the foundations for the realization of the work, as a complete expression of the architectural research of the Studio. The client, in this case, not only states the needs or his will, puts energy and makes resources available, but above all he works with the designer accepting the various aspirations.
The result is a two-storey box that hosts the new AMAA branch office inside a former vaulted factory. Everything appears for what it is: the thin steel frame structure, the concrete and metal slab, the path of the electrical system with its pipes, plugs and switches, the metal frame of the windows.
Team:
Client: MARCO METTIFOGO
Designer: AMAA
Architects: Arch. Marcello Galiotto PhD, Arch. Alessandra Rampazzo PhD, Arch. Francesca Fasiol
Pictures: Simone Bossi, Francesca Vinci (model)
Main contractor: IL GRIFO SRL - Via P. Matteucci, 6 - 36071 Arzignano (VI)
Steel frame windows: SANTULIANA DESIGN
Steel structure: PETTENUZZO REMO S.A.S. DI PETTENUZZO ENRICO & C.
Structural Engineer: Ing. Claudio Lorenzetto – Lorenzetto Ingegneria
Project: Perito PAOLO LUCATELLO
Plumbing: LO.GI.T. Termoidraulica s.n.c. di Antoniazzi Lorenzo e Giovanni
Electrical: ELETTROIMPIANTI di Nogarole Ruggero & C. S.n.c.
Materials Used:
JUNG: electrical components
O/M Light (Portugal): lighting
PIBAMARMI: travertino marble
FLOS: lighting
TOTO: bathroom fittings
OFFICINE BERNARDINI SRL (Arzignano): steel and inox components
ZUFFELLATO ARREDAMENTI: wooden furniture
AUTOTECNICA DI PERETTO GIUSEPPE: áudio speakers
VITRA: furniture
