Quarto Inferiore Centre, Bologna
The proposal concerns the redesign of a disused industrial park, transforming it into a flexible and fluid space for cultural and entertainment activities.
A centre for academic, cultural, and recreational activities, through projectbased and themebased activities and exhibitions. The intention is to create an institution that not only would attract stakeholders’ and local community’s interest but would also stimulate local economy. Especially in an area that confronts with a contemporary crisis (economic, social, crisis in values etc) like the whole of South Europe, such schemes could provide a means of economic growth and the ground for new visions by young people to rise and flourish.
The proposed centre is a place for children and young people to learn, experiment, play, socialize, pursue their interests and passions and communicate their ideas.
The activities take place at three levels.
At local level, the centre brings the community to the site, through afterschool programs and recreational activities that familiarise children and young people with science and arts through interactive installations, teaching programs and learning, projectbased and themebased, temporary or permanent activities.
At a broader level (presentation and promotion of arts), the centre provides the space for cultural and artistic activities, attracting the global interest through exhibitions, theatrical plays, dance performances etc
Finally, at a third level (artistic production), the centre provides space to young artists and students to work and generate arts, working on specific projects on their field of expertise, working with the local community, and exchanging ideas with each other in an interdisciplinary environment, either in the form of hiring their space or through scholarships by their university.
Consequently, the centre would attract international – local stakeholders’ interest, local community’s attention and participation and would also stimulate local economy through the creation of demand for accommodation, cafés, restaurants, shops etc in the immediate area.
The building is a beautiful example of 70’s industrial architecture. The design intention was to bring out those qualities instead of taking decisions that would alter the character of the building. In terms of structure, the slab of the 1st floor was removed at specific points to increase interior height, however, no beams or columns were altered or removed, with the exception of a beam at the entrance lobby no longer needed and removed on aesthetic grounds.
The entrance of the building remained in the same location, however acquired a double height and a fluid sculptural, grand staircase to the 1st floor of the building. The spacious interiors retained their qualities while coloured vertical volumes identify different uses of spaces
At the ground floor there are spaces for exhibitions and artistic performances (at the two auditoriums) while at the first floor there are spaces for the afterschool programs and recreationallearning activities as well as a space for performances or practise (dance, music, theatre). Finally, the fourth level is the studios for artists and students.
The dense “green ring” around the building is retained in order to provide shading to the facades, which also acquired a new skin for shading and visual integration.
The concrete, solid masses of the administrative block and the two blocks at the south and west facades are covered with vertical gardens.
In term of sustainability, the ventilation system chosen is natural ventilation (both cross and stack, depending on the location within the building) mechanically assisted because of the depth of certain spaces. Moreover, the skylights are retained for daylight maximization, while lighttubes systems could be used to deliver daylight to the ground floor.
Young Architects Competition, 2014
In collaboration with :
Kallikratis Evlogimenos, Architect