Ipercoop Formigine | Area-17 Architecture & Interiors

Formigine Ipercoop is the first Coop’s supermarket designed to be LEED Gold certified. From the exteriors to the interiors, each planning decision made by Area-17 and INRES focused on a logic of environmental sustainability and energy saving. A real tree embedded in the design of the façade reminds us of all the efforts made to think of architectural solutions in respect of the natural environment.From the outside, the hypermarket is a sharp volume that curves where the restaurant area Buona Pausa is, highlighting its specificity. Ample, rounded windows characterized this area as well as the cantilever roof that runs along the main façade. A sun louvre system in composite wood defines a transitional space between the exterior and the interior. It introduces the theme of materials’ re-use, which is further developed inside: the information desk is made of recycled pressed cardboard while many complements are made of local timber species.The awareness of re-use politics find its highest expression in the Recycling Wall, the white volume juxtaposed to the east façade, which encloses a sophisticated mechanism to collect high quality plastic waste. The exterior wall is backlit and pierced to draw the shape of a stylized tree, which symbolically will grow from the citizenship’s commitment to a conscious recycling. The attention towards nature and sustainability emerges also from the abundance of natural light inside the store and from the interplay between the green wall and the open views on the beautiful natural surroundings.