Baricentrale Railway Corridor | Insula architettura e ingegneria s.r.l.

The International competition aims to design a major transformation of the city’s central areas now dismissed. The project site covers an area of 78 hectares over a length of 3 km. 105 was the number of candidates to the first pre selection phase. Among them only 10 were chosen for the final phase. The goal of the competition is to define a long-term vision of the band in between the historical and the modern city, where the presence of the tracks has always been a discontinuity and a barrier. Three are the main themes of the competition. a. the renovation of the former military barracks Rossani with the creation of a public park b. the connection between the two sides of the city, now separated by the railway, following the reorganization of the railway junction c. the creation of a new district, the so-called Porta Ovest described in the preliminary planning documents. a. Insula project proposes to demolish the barracks and implement immediately a park of great size, around which are located all public functions and cultural facilities the city really needs. Two important assumptions have to be made. The first is that the city suffers from the lack of public spaces, especially parks and gardens, and the second is that the former barracks is a complex of little architectural value, the recovery of which is difficult and expensive. b. The idea is to be able to walk from one part of the city to the other, without noticing the presence of the railway. Along three alignments that connect significant portions of urban neighborhoods three inhabited bridges are placed, building together a sort of urban block. This pedestrian connections hanging system is connected to the long terrace of the railway station, and it exploits the permeability of the structures at the ground level. In this urban block there are shops, little offices, public services, an hotel and some special residences; the part crossing the railroads, rising for other 3 levels houses, in thin volumes offices and services. c. “Porta Ovest” District. The complex develops around a large urban green plaza. The square measuring 450 meters long by 100 wide (4.5 hectares), bordered by commercial buildings 9 meters high, thus making it a major urban space. It houses a sports and wellness center; restaurants and cafeterias opens on terraces and porches ; a multiplex cinema occupies the basement together with big commercial spaces . So this should become a city portion able to attract as downtown does. Above this part of town there are houses, residences and offices.