Manifattura: The Making of an Italian Green Technology Park

, ,
,

Keywords: , , , ,

Kengo Kuma & Associates and carlorattiassociati – walter nicolino & carlo ratti together with ARUP Italia have been developing the design of a master plan strategy for Manifattura Domani Srl – “Ex Manifattura Tabacchi” site, Rovereto, Italy. The area, which includes a development for 8.4 ha of land with 56,000 sqm of built surface, will be a new Technological Park cluster in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy for scientific innovation and implementation of new business ideas. The cluster will respond to the needs and realities of local businesses, integrating the supply chain, providing educational opportunities in innovation and enabling both research and manufacture. The project aims also to become a low carbon and highly energy efficient district, fostering accountability to climate change issues by establishing clear carbon reduction targets and transparent carbon measuring mechanisms and promoting a sustainable lifestyle. Promoting the use of new and innovative technologies in the built environment will make people more mobile (through wi-fi, PDAs, etc.), changing the space and making its use more efficient by eliminating the need for standard partitioning, which forced replication as advocated by Le Corbusier and the modern movement. A variety of overlapping different activities, such as workspaces, café and relaxation areas, will encourage a more productive and stress-free working environment, where space can bring people and ideas together. The project will create functional and flexible spaces that allow for a multiplicity of uses, while its dynamic image of the development will also encourage the sharing of expertise between different users. The architecture aims to create a hierarchy of spaces, with different levels of privacy: the core will be the private spaces that host activities for the companies and inaccessible by the public. This is followed by shared spaces between companies (technical spaces for common use of instrumentation and machines, joined research, but also meeting spaces and videoconferencing units to provide integration between companies and efficient use of resources and brand positioning); spaces accessible to the aforementioned companies and participants interested in the work carried out at the Manifattura Domani will be available for research, training and studios for short term residency. Finally, there will be spaces accessible to the public: Covered plazas with shops, restaurants, café, gym, and SPA will permit Manifattura Domani to became a lived-in part of the city, connecting to existing neighborhoods and contributing to the public realm and urban vibrancy of Rovereto. Preserving the existing architectural heritage, fostering efficient use of space, reducing the impact of buildings in the natural environment by adopting green building rating and certification systems and using low carbon materials together with a strong architectural design will define a district of landmark quality with a strong and recognizable identity that reinterprets existing attributes while it enhances the historic nature of the site.

PDF of paper:


Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 2010 Clean Technology Conference and Trade Show
Published: June 21, 2010
Pages: 407 - 410
Industry sector: Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Sustainable Materials
ISBN: 978-1-4398-3419-0