Renovation of the Coppedè building in the Breda ex-industrial area

Pistoia, International competition, 2008 (Breschistudio Associati)

Project
Alberto Breschi, Claudia Giannoni

 

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The project envisages the rehabilitation of the building for which the competition was called, through the identification of the significant features in the historical memory of this industrial activity; the intervention does not re-propose the features of an industrial aesthetic in a superficial way but, with a good understanding of the philosophy that determined its design, develops a solution which valorises its memory and is coherent with the new requirements related to the re-use of the building.

The concept is thus based upon two central themes:
1.- The unitary nature of the project, which involves the existing facade of the Coppedè building, turning it into the matrix for the rehabilitation project.
2.- A maximum coherence between the required functions and the distributive layout.
The facade, designed by Coppedè in the early 20th century, is aesthetically worthy, and serves as the true matrix for the design that establishes the guidelines for the restructuring of the complex. Although divided into three parts, the covering of the building is developed in evident contrast, establishing a discordant asymmetry. The lateral facades of the triangular building follow the structure of the covering and confirm the sense of alienation.