Milano / Ever est
In the ever-expanding Greater Milan the Lambrate site offers great scope for transforming and upgrading city corners that have grown fragmented, uneven in consistency and in need of a new idea: a new sense of town centre.
The Ex A.L. Colombo and the Ex Pitteri 89 sites serve as bridge districts made all the more useful by their proximity to the most important Milan interchanges, such as Linate airport, Lambrate railway station and the eastern orbital. At present it stands an abandoned wasteland, an erstwhile industrial plot with various lingering constructions in states of disuse.
The upgrade plan by 5+1AA is to create a service and artisan/manufacturing area complete with urban park that will link the various operations and connect with the adjacent Rubattino and other large parks in the Milanese periphery.
The project entails restoring a number of existing buildings whilst keeping the industrial/artisan end-user, and demolishing/rebuilding others with a change of user from manufacturing to service/managerial.
The overall aim is to put Lambrate back on the map, open to the city as an important new urban area. The framework of buildings, both converted and new, will form a striking linear sequence of interlinked user-friendly high-profile units unfolding via a series of open courts whose inside layout constantly varies.
The town square and building layout align with the main axes in this operation and ensure the park is properly visible.
The highest consideration for quality went into designing the service buildings. The way volumes are deployed, the horizontal line of development preferred, suggested introducing terraces and hanging gardens in great number, with access direct from the offices.
These buildings form a series of courts that change in physical shape and optical perception at every level and turn into a sequence of green planes. The roofs hang suspended above the park and command a view through to the city and its surrounds. The façade system adopted is an important factor in the interplay of outside and inside, differentiating the elevation presented to the town from the more secluded side. To the outer world the façades jut in a horizontal projection shielding from glare. The glass cladding, now reflecting, now transparent, creates an urban “landscape”, a constant dialogue of inside and out, changing from day to night.
Bologna / Business park
Occupying an area of 80,000 sq m, the Bologna Business Park is designed on the principle of a perfect equilibrium between architecture and environment. The attractive enclosed grounds house 10 buildings, providing a total of 40,000 sq m of offices and services.
The modern architectural design and the choice of materials emphasise the lightness of the lines, creating an attractive context of great prestige. Access is by means of a single road running along the perimeter of the area, with branches leading to individual buildings, each with its own private underground car park and external visitors parking.
The design process sought to create new workspaces in a quality environment enjoying plentiful natural light and a view of the park: large windows and double floor heights give a sense of space and underline the serene atmosphere of the entire area.
Building style is of two kinds, only apparently similar; each building is oriented to make effective use of the sunlight striking it. North-facing sides have large, unobstructed windows, while those facing in other directions have windows protected by sun baffles. The constant aim is to ensure massive energy saving on both heating and air-conditioning.
The building type described as “L”- shaped comprises two parts of the same length, placed at right-angles. On four storeys, it has a large light-filled entrance hall off which the two symmetrical wings lead.
The building described as “T” - shaped has a striking architectural design: a thin layer of bricks runs up between the plate glass windows to the third floor. The property consists of three independent sections converging on a shared entrance hall.
The park plays a fundamental role, creating a context in which architecture, environment and services merge. Entirely traffic-free, the grounds have modern urban fixtures along the cycle ways and pedestrian paths, and are equipped with a fitness circuit for sports enthusiasts.
Cesena / Novello
The competition held by the town of Cesena called for submissions to revitalise the areas north of Via Emilia, the main road running through the town (now freed of through traffic and destined to become an urban boulevard), the railway station and a greenfield site running along the new, low-lying trunk road up to the former wholesale market. The whole area extends over some 33 hectares.
The winners, headed by Genoa architect Simona Gabrielli, proposed a project in keeping with the special features of the area. The urban fabric will create a continuum with the existing building stock yet allow the surrounding landscape to penetrate the new-build area.
The sector above the tunnel of the new trunk road will be turned into a 10-hectare public park with pedestrian and cycle paths. It will flow directly into a new residential and services district to be built on and around the former wholesale-market site.
New parking areas will be provided around the railway while schools will be built in the sector south of the railway. Underground parking in this area will free up land for a central square and outdoor sports facilities.
Ancona / Corti sostenibili
In the hills behind the town of Maiolati Spontini where the built-up area merges into cultivated countryside, the complex developed by Profili Costruzioni, designed by architects Battistelli Roccheggiani Architetti Associati with Aplusstudio, called “Le Corti Sostenibili” (or Sustainable Courtyards), stands as a model of modern building based not so much on economic as on sustainable criteria. Key points are to set buildings in relation to their surroundings, see them as organisms with an energy balance projected over their whole life cycle, and not underestimate values such as health, comfort and forging social relations. Future inhabitants will have to play their part: they must be informed of the sustainable process and how to manage them.
The landscape has been brought into the project and used as a raw material bolstering the connection between architecture and nature. Public green areas and alternative styles of mobility are the mainstay of the new district. A green belt stretches around the complex, keeping vehicles at bay almost entirely. Priority has gone to pedestrians and cyclists, sports and play.
Each building was studied for its exposure to the sun: the optimum orientation was found, the type of roofing, how to position the sun shields, the size and layout of window-bearing walls and the arrangement of vegetation.
La Spezia / Progetto Marinella
The Unified Project Marinella-Fiumaretta, promoted and developed by Marinella Spa, is an upgrade operation to the territory to attract tourism and integrate it with agriculture, sport, culture and the environment. The challenge is to set up a model of landscape enhancement dovetailing with a promotion and management model designed upon criteria of economic, environmental and social sustainability. The territory is seen as a set of social and ecological systems whose quality stems above all from the structural-functional relations among the various existing habitats.
The masterplan designed in 2007 sets out to revive the cultural and historical value of the inhabited centres, striking a balance between the needs of residents and the activities of tourism, trade and craftsmanship, as well as promoting the area by exhibitions, cultural events and conferences. The project also proposes plans for an integrated garden port: the Fiumaretta sea front is to provide top-level port facilities, while the smaller Pantalè frontage will serve the Cinque Terre as an auxiliary maritime station hosting a total of some 400 anchorages. The agricultural estate concept is to be preserved but restyled through new operations such as teaching farms, rare vegetable production, country B&B, sales points for local produce and wares. The road network will enhance awareness of the countryside, limiting noise and atmospheric pollution.
The key to it is to shift the coast road back, which will increase the shoreline facilities, including a continuous seaside pedestrian-cycle route. The project plans for the environment include upgrading existing habitats and reconstructing those that have been lost.
