NOI Techpark by Claudio Lucchin & Architetti Associati and Chapman Taylor
Bolzano, Italy
Situated just about as far north in Italy as you can go, Bolzano, the capital of the country’s autonomous South Tyrol province, has its charm, with a Medieval center composed of winding arcaded streets and an impressive cathedral. In contrast is a nearby industrial zone, which, in its sprawling grittiness, offers a foil to the Alpine peaks that embrace the city. The district has its own history as a relic of the Fascist period. When Mussolini was trying to Italianize South Tyrol—previously part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and annexed by Italy following World War I—he promoted industrialization here in the hope of outnumbering the German-speaking population with Italian immigrants.
The Montecatini aluminum factory (eventually to become Italy’s largest) was the first plant to open in Bolzano, in 1938, followed by numerous other heavy industries. However, declining production over the decades led to the plant (then Alumix) being largely decommissioned in the early 1990s, with the foundries demolished. The province purchased a 22-acre parcel of the 50-acre campus shortly after, prompting a master plan and a debate about the future use of the land and its structures. In 2004, the factory’s four vacant main buildings were listed as historic monuments. All designed in-house by the Montecatini company, they included two transformer plants (BZ1 and BZ2) as well as two small buildings that housed management, a caretaker’s quarters, and a canteen. In 2007, the provincial administration launched a competition to reimagine the property. Initially, the brief included a museum, but it was later amended to dedicate the whole program to a research and innovation center to encourage Bolzano’s evolution from an industrial hub to an enclave of high-tech. The result is a sophisticated new campus that preserves the understated facades and soaring interiors of the beautiful Rationalist architecture here while creating a highly sustainable modern workplace that continues the tradition of industry in Bolzano.
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