CONVERSION OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS AND REFORM OF AN ART NOUVEAU BUILDING FOR A NEW OPERATIONAL HEADQ
The intervention was structured in successive phases, progressively affecting all the buildings located in the site district. This is a piece of the city between the lakes and the railway track characterized by the presence of industrial buildings as well as single-family houses. The project proceeds with the reconversion of buildings from different ages, with the objective of maintaining the identity of the individual pieces in the unity of the design.
In the first phase, the work focused on an early 20th century industrial building whose architectural structure had been made unreadable by successive additions determined by functional demands. In its conversion from a production site to offices, the interior rooms and their distribution were completely reconfigured, while at the same time bringing back into view characterizing structures such as the Polonceau iron trusses.
The second phase involved the restoration and reconfiguration of the Liberty Building and the warehouses connected to it. On the main front, the project was set up as a rewriting of the architectural design that characterized it before its transformation into a garage, with the introduction of the large vehicles access gate. For the whole building, the work was aimed at the restoring of the rhythm of the proportions of the openings and decorative devices. A thin structure made of iron and glass is added to the main volume, taking up the interstitial space between it and the wall marking the boundary of the property. A new connecting sleeve redefines the succession of buildings from the road to the railway track, ending with the guesthouse building. This building stands on the site of the original caretaker's house, which is reconstructed and enlarged, keeping a portion of the old façade.
The third phase, currently in progress, involves the reconversion of a former water station, built during the Fascist period, into a new center dedicated to training and education in the field of telecommunications.