The main strength of the area chosen for the creation of the Technogym Village is its position not far from the A14 motorway, Cesena exit. Since the building facade looks onto the motorway, these facilities will enjoy great visibility and will become a reference point for car drivers; furthermore, the mobility of the company’s vehicles will thus be facilitated. The "Technogym Village” that gathers other office buildings, the Wellness Centre and the laboratories of the R&D group, looks onto the park. The new office building, that linearly develops along the industrial building for 200 metres distributed on four floors providing a total surface of about 10,700 sqm, will be erected next to the production site, in order to complement the functional units that have been included in the largest Technogym project.

The vertical distribution is guaranteed by the presence of three staircases, plus a shaft of two separated lifts and a panoramic staircase. The main entrance is through the park, near the most representative area which gathers the rooms of the presidency and the auditorium. A big curved roof in lamellar wood and the continuous façade in wood and glass looking onto the park enrich this building which, generally speaking, has a very simple and economic structure with a mixture of prefabricated elements in steel and reinforced concrete. Inside the building, the offices are organised on two different sides: the south side, towards the park, is shaded against the sun by the presence of the curved roof, whereas the north side, more operational, looks over the undulated roofing of the factory. The central area of the office building hosts the services, common spaces for meetings and open space work areas while along the facades there are the individual, closed offices. In line with the concept of “wellness”, this project underlines the relationship between the inside of the building and the outside looking onto the park (transparent indoor partitions) and the use of high performance natural materials (wood and glass). The site is complemented by the “Wellness Centre”, a building with an elliptical plan covering 2,700 sqm, connected to the offices situated near the main entrance. A gym and a SPA are housed in the two-level area which has been entirely designed in structural wood with transparent walls looking onto the park.

The intent with this project was to reduce to a minimum the sections of the elements, so as to create a light and elegant structure. The choice to unite timber elements with hidden steel plates was dictated by aesthetic reasons, but it also contributes to conferring greater fire resistance on the structure.

“In accordance with our philosophy, the new TGV was not meant to be just a manufacturing plant - but much more. It had to represent an enhanced way of life - and introduce a culture of personal well-being and improved health education, so as to enable the people involved in our ambitious project, to enjoy and benefit from a healthier life-style.

To do this we needed to create an architecturally enhanced environment, inspired by the concepts of eco-sustainability and bio-architecture. We appointed architect Antonio Citterio for the design because he has the experience and knowledge to interpret the philosophy and history of the Company and mould it, through an icon, to the Technogym brand.

Therefore, it followed that the choice of using natural materials, such as wood, was able toguarantee a low environmental impact and convey a feeling of warmth and harmony from interaction between man and nature. The engineered glulam oak curtain walls Unitherm, also used in the Wellness Centre, were able to translate that ecological concept into the reality of both, architectural and cultural harmony, for the benefit of all.”

Nerio e Pierluigi Alessandri