What colour a boundary? Opificio Golinelli

By Francesco Pagliari - 30 September 2015
Ivas, Schüco, Zumtobel Group have participated in the project

A Citadel for Knowledge and Culture in Bologna. Interview with Marino Golinelli, by Elisabetta Tola

Speaking to Marino Golinelli about the social and cultural role of the entrepreneur is a refreshing experience. The chairman and founder in 1948 of the highly successful pharmaceutical firm, Alfa Wasserman, is a prime example of ethical and civic commitment. Acutely aware - unlike many in Italy - of the need to invest in culture, Golinelli set up a cultural foundation some 27 years ago. Completely independent of his company, the Golinelli Foundation has always been at the forefront of cultural and scientific dissemination, especially engaging with the younger generations. Today it has widened its reach with the opening of Opificio Golinelli, a new school designed by the young (under 40) architects of the practice diverserighestudio. “The new institution - Opificio Golinelli - sums up our over-arching vision” Marino Golinelli told me a few days before the official opening. “It’s a metaphor for the city of Bologna, a centre of learning and culture, but also a hands-on place for putting innovative ideas into practice”.

E. T. - Is it especially geared to the sciences?
M. G. - It’s more than that. I’ve always had a holistic idea of what “culture” is; it’s an essential component of all human beings. I have always held that education should be all-rounded combining the sciences, the humanities and the arts. I have always been convinced that it should imply practical know-how. As a place of learning how to do, equipped with laboratories for hands-on activities, the Opificio is specifically designed to encourage high-school kids to become innovative entrepreneurs.

E. T. - Would you say this clear-cut objective is reflected in the architecture of the new building?
M. G. -...