The studio Italia and Partners has breathed new life into the headquarters of the Unione Industriali di Torino, with a refitting project that worked on both the aesthetics and the structures of the historic building.
Located in the elegant Crocetta district, immersed in a dense network of Art Nouveau residences, the headquarters was entirely rebuilt between 1956 and 1958 by Mario Dezzutti in a modernist logic.
Regenerating the building according to the new functional, regulatory and energy-efficiency requirements was the focus of the assignment entrusted to the Turin-based studio Italia and Partners led by Matteo Italia, which analysed the spaces and structures with a very careful approach to the historical-architectural implications and the value of the original materials.
The most significant and most visible operation of the project was the rethinking of the existing façade, in particular its aluminium, glass and glass-cement partitioning within which the stairwell and lifts are encapsulated.
The new façade presents itself as a respectful graft, precisely because it was designed following a rhythm inspired by the scansion of the original façade; in the new solution, however, the dimension of verticality is accentuated and emphasised, giving the whole a greater momentum and elegance.
The building’s interiors were also involved in a process of profound renovation: the lobby, meeting rooms and boardroom were studied and reinterpreted with particular care, organising their refurbishment around a single, coherent formal lexicon.
In the lobby, the original floors have been maintained and revitalised, while the counter and cupboards have been covered with Canaletto walnut panels and black and blue lacquered Fenix slabs.
The brightness of the meeting rooms, which have been completely renovated and from which there is now a wide panoramic view of the city, is facilitated by the transparency of the new facades. In the meeting rooms, the floors have been refurbished using tiles with a gold calacatta marble effect, with the exception of the boardroom, which is distinguished by its large tapestry, elegant thorn parquet and aristocratic matt black lacquered and blue velvet stretched counter-walls.
In the centre of the room stands -scenographic- a central table of over 7 metres in Canaletto walnut and metal, custom-made by the studio Italia and Partners in a dry and refined style.
The refurbishment of the building also naturally involved the complex system of common spaces, such as the very long corridors that characterise the layout of the floors, stairwells, hallways and bathrooms. Each of these spaces has undergone specific aesthetic and functional improvements and redefinitions. The beautiful original mosaics on the staircases and in the lift landing have been preserved and enhanced with the introduction of grazing light LED veils that allow them to be better read. Similarly, the elegant wood panelling framing the stairs and connecting spaces was recovered.
A particularly developed theme was the lighting quality of all the rooms, achieved through a precise balancing of natural and artificial light with the insertion of concealed spotlights inside the black grooves made in the ceilings.
The overall effect is that of an intervention of great balance and formal sensitivity, which succeeds both in complying with the new technical and performance requirements while respecting a historical building of great architectural value, and in emphasising its volumes and aesthetics, bringing it up to date with the introduction of small but significant contemporary gestures conceived to measure.
CREDITS
Project: Unione Industriali Torino Headquarters
Studio: arch. Matteo Italia – Italia and Partners
Location: Turin
Year: 2021
Team: arch. Matteo Italia, arch. Vincenzo Italia, arch. Carolina De Lucia, arch. Emilio Pantò, arch. Camila Chaverra, arch. Gisele Chauvet.
Photo credit: Federico Moschietto
