SNOS

The intervention on the former Savigliano Mills (ex Officine Savigliano ) is part of a wide redevelopment action of the dismissed Turin industrial areas, bordering the city railway main axis. The project foresees the restructuring of the historical building whose impressive façade, 350 meters long, becomes the seam between the new building at the back and the city park. The building is characterized by different volumes, articulating in compliance with the different activities hosted within the complex: advanced productive facilities, commercial activities, some residential units, like lofts. The original severity and unity of the factory is broken by the pervasion of the new volumes that attract the attention, pulling it to discover what happens on the inside. The inner space - originally a passageway for the trains - hosts the public pathways and connects different levels. The inside of the old building is transformed in an external space, facing the new buildings and the "Dora" park. The new buildings reflect the will to characterize the different parts of the whole project. In this way the simple shapes and the different interpretation of construction material traditionally used in industrial contexts are fundamental. The commercial units, located in the gallery, are partially fitted within the historical building. Their axis is slanted from the building's main ones, thus defining two different slopes, in order to "break" the length of the gallery space with plainly added volumes. The six new buildings, placed in the very heart of the area at the back of the historical building, are set in parallel, and represent spaces dedicated to high tech companies. The buildings' lining is made of modular aluminium panels, which highlight the contrast between empty and full spaces. Large windows, made of sectional glass sheets (U-glass type), opens toward the city and the new pedestrian pathways. The different transparencies of different finished glasses increase the light and shade effects and highlight the industrial memory of the area.