A point of reference for the community to preserve the soul and the memory of the congregation: Civic center in Padova

This project is located in the city of Padua and it includes the renovation of the ex-City Hall and House of Associations, the realization of new Civic Centre and the redevelopment of the west area of Piazza IV Novembre. The big economic and urban development of the city and his neighboring municipality changes the social plan and it comes to light the need to identify new spaces of socialization. The project aim is to create areas that can be a point of reference for the community and can preserve the “soul” and the memory of the congregation at the same time. The planning proposal for the restoration keeps in mind architectural and formal features of pre-existing buildings: especially the ex-City Hall is distinctive and recognizable in the surrounding context of the city and has a strong historic value. The redevelopment project of this building includes a new cultural and social function (library and spaces for didactic works) and a new location for a meeting room, next to House of Associations. Near the library there is a new building that holds a Civic Centre and many functions to give a central position at the city. The design idea wants to define the new construction as a solid and linear geometric block, later “digged” to create a glimpses and interesting points of view towards the urban context and the main elements of the square. The shape of the building is developed geometrically according to a grid that generates a modular alternation between solids and voids on the façade, where transparency and permeability meet opacity and privacy according to the needs and the different purposes of the various rooms. Two elements highlight the continuity of new building with the pre-existing one: the lineup of the altitude of the last structural floor with the cornice of ex-City Hall and a long vertical glass window on the corner of south side aligned with the corner of the new library. Stone, classic and timeless material, is used for the covering of the facade, it evokes the pre-existing building and guarantees a solution of temporal and formal continuity. The use of high-performance materials guarantees inside comfort, with specific attention to the masonry and roofing construction layers. The windows are equipped with thermal break insulated glass and all the systems necessary for air exchange and conditioning meet the requirements for energy saving and sustainability. Regarding the redevelopment of the west area of Piazza IV Novembre, the planning proposal defines a new organization of the traffic circulation, of the external green spaces and parking lots.