Please request authentication to use the images

INTRODUCTION
The intervention is the first phase of the recovery of the Vitali district, a rundown industrial area near the centre where the plants of the Teksid foundry were once located, and includes its reconversion for other uses and construction of a total of 190,000 sqm. of new buildings.
This phase, begun in the autumn of 2003, will lead to the construction of around 50,000 sqm. by autumn of 2005.
The purpose of the plan is to renew the territory by creating a new town centre that will offer multi-functional areas and a park and will involve all local infrastructures, modifying the road network, thanks in particular to the construction of the underpass in Corso Mortara in the area between Via Livorno and Via Borgaro, and to the realignment of the road axis of Via Verolengo and Via Orvieto.
In this way, pedestrians will be favoured inside the complex and use of the park guaranteed by concentrating building in the area north of Corso Mortara in a zone with an average width of about 130 metres that runs along via Verolengo and via Orvieto.
To recover and renew an area of this kind, marked by an industrial past and therefore by a sort of isolation with respect to the surrounding town structure, means, on the one hand, to create a new district in it, with forms and functions that satisfy the needs of those that will live there and that will attract and involve the inhabitants of nearby districts and the rest of the city, and, on the other, to seize the opportunity to provide a regenerating impulse to the entire city.
The architectural plan intends to valorise the positive aspects with a unifying vision of the district, in which allocated usage will maintain features and identities that are purposely left different from each other.
Therefore, it was essential to decide which functions to concentrate in this area in addition to residential housing, accommodation facilities, commercial activity and, services and manufacturing businesses.
Their number, together with the presence of a large park, will assure the vitality of the area and the mutual exchange that will occur with the bordering districts.
The Vitali area is part of the town renewal programme (PRIU) of the Spina 3 area of transformation and is subdivided into 5 sub-districts and into a minimum of 6 planning coordination units in order to render the interventions independent as far as possible within these subdivisions, guaranteeing in any event a unified design on the basis of the restrictions given in the prescribed tables and technical construction standards.
In order to maintain the continuity of the planned construction with the Dora Park that envisages the renewal of the banks of the river unbroken, it was planned to fill in the area of Corso Mortara entirely covering it with greenery and artificial hills to minimize the environmental and visual impact.
The first phase of the plan provides for around 30,000 sqm. of private and public housing, 13,000 sqm. of buildings for commercial use, 5,300 sqm. for hotels and 1,500 sqm. for the service industry.
The area's location offers the possibility of creating a unique integration of the city structure and public green areas, enabling a direct view of the river without visual obstruction and enjoyment of the park, by following the gradual sloping of the territory all the way to the Dora Riparia River.
The square is the centre for various city functions.
Its distinctive telescopic shape pointed towards the river is proof of the desire for mediation between city and park, the presence of glass covered areas stimulates aggregation and social gatherings, and the exclusively pedestrian traffic favours the continuity of the transition between nature and the city centre.
The garden roofs of the commercial buildings, which can easily be seen from various directions, are used as green areas, guaranteeing comfortable temperatures to the areas and satisfying modern requirements of synergy and harmony between the metropolitan area and the park.
Environment awareness, energy savings and the need to control costs have influenced the choice for technologically advanced planning and construction solutions by means of a single installation and adoption of ventilated walls to improve the thermal performance of the buildings.
The building along Via Verolengo is presented as a compact town front, interrupted by side roads and terraces in the upper part of the buildings, which ensure an unobstructed view between the opposite side and the park.
The front along Via Orvieto is double: a first front is made up of the long brick building that houses handicrafts and that constitutes in effect a foundation for the four L-shaped residential buildings of Lot 4; and a second front, located at park level, above the level of the road.
This front is also subdivided so that greenery always remains visible. Lot 3, at the corner of Via Verolengo and Via Orvieto, constitutes the key element between the two fronts and in a certain sense the main access junction for the entire system. It is made up of a linear building for residential use that faces one of the side roads of Via Verolengo, a hotel, whose curved shape unites the two fronts, and especially by two opposing elements, the tower and the commercial area, a sort of visual signal for the town the first, an invitation to enter the park the second.
THE OLYMPIC PROGRAMME
The plan provides for the use of the entire area concerned by the first phase of the intervention as part of the Media Village for the duration of the Olympic events and its successive transformation for use as provided for the original plan.
The Village makes accommodation available for around 1,400 people with private bath and public areas for all needs connected to the activities hosted, small areas for gatherings on each floor, large meeting rooms in each building, a central reception area, catering and a press room in the future commercial centre.
The rehabilitation, included as early as the planning stage, will provide residential, commercial and service area perfectly integrated into the new district after having satisfied the various needs of the Village during the period of the Olympic Games.
Different uses are planned for the northwest section of Lot 3 - residential, commercial, hotels - that will occupy the entire plan for the area and that depend directly on bordering lots.
The functions are organised for similar buildings: the commercial link building, together with the ground floor of the area, the residence in the building in line with the new road to the park, the hotel on the front of via Verolengo.
Business activities occupy almost the entire area of the ground floor of the area; which is designed as a single link building, a solid foundation with openings and dentils.
The emerging volumes of the line of residences and the hotel rise without any continuity above organised along the two front roads of the lot.
The entire roofing of the commercial foundation is provided with hanging gardens serving the sections above, which are located so as to overlook an elevated garden, internal courtyard that everyone can enjoy.
The organisation of the space and functions had to take into account the planning restrictions of the surrounding areas, setting, visibility and accessibility to the area.
Different treatment of the exterior surfaces, even if a uniform appearance to the intervention was maintained, was applied for different uses: maximum transparency and openness towards the interior for the commercial areas, terraces, loggias and balconies, external offshoots of the residential space for the residences and transitional filter screen for the hotel.
THE HOTEL
It is located in Via Verolengo in the eight-storey building on the curve. The main entrance and lobby, Reception, floor services and management are situated on the ground floor near the pedestrian square The lifts and main stairway are located in the lobby.
The central section of the ground floor is reserved for shops and the cafeteria is located on the first floor near the lobby.
Large plate-glass windows open out onto the entrance below the square and onto the hanging garden on the first floor, which can be used during the summer as a terrace for breakfast and refreshments.
The remaining part of the building has a total of 141 rooms. The façade of the hotel is fitted with decorative elements that shield the basic structure of pillars and beams, creating a new overlaying grid that forms a transition area both from the interior towards the exterior and vice versa. The rooms are arranged so as to have the wall facing the exterior free.
The roof is flat and has a hanging garden.
A panoramic bar with a view of the Dora Park and the Alps is located near the main lifts and stairway.
THE RESIDENCE
The residence extends from the first to the eighth floor of the building located along the new road to the park. The ground floor area is occupied by a continuous arcade and shops that from the interior of the link building overlook the arcade facing the road.
The rooms on the first floor are organised so that the living area faces east onto the hanging gardens for private use, while the sleeping area and bathrooms are located on the west side.
The living rooms and kitchens that overlook the gardens have large sliding plate-glass windows, which can be left open in order to take full advantage of the enjoyable external space.
The rooms on the second floor are small and have one or two rooms.
The living area overlooks large terraces that occupy the entire width of the buildings. On the west side, small loggias serving the sleeping area have been created.
The floors from the third to the sixth are organised with the living areas facing east, overlooking terraces and loggias all-round.
On the west side there are small balconies serving the sleeping area.
The top two floors are organised in duplex attics with large exterior gardens on several levels.
While medium-sized rooms are located in the main structure of the building, at the two ends and in the section connecting the building with the hotel, the type changes slightly and the units are organised differently, also to better meet the need for a view with smaller types of units.
Corner terraces, loggias, balconies and bow windows characterise these units, which are all different. The façades, which from the first to the sixth floor are organised on two split level floors, one opposite in line with the loggias and the balconies and one behind in line with the actual outer wall, are made with traditional materials.
Plastered bricks create a solid foundation for support even though it is broken by a long arcade on the ground floor that reduces its presence.
The upper volume has a lighter structure, with broken volumes, made with panelling in transparent glass structures, which float without weight on the base below. So the façades feature three superimposed layers.
The first starting from below composed of the negative of the continuous arcade, the second, intermediate, with all the plastered layers, continuous loggias and balconies, the third, above, with broken elements and free light volumes.

The tower building is a distinctive landmark in the district, partly set aside for the service industry (ground floor, first, second and third) and partly as a residence (from the 5th to the 17th floor), closely depending on the adjacent lots and in particular with the complex described above.
The structure is built with parting walls and pillars in reinforced concrete and the building has an overall maximum height at the floor roof of the 17th floor of 57.7m.
The tower is divided for different uses horizontally and vertically proposing solutions for the service industry on the first four floors and as a residence from the fifth to the seventeenth floors, with sizes of flats designed to attract a variety of users representing a cross section of the city to give life to the district.
Being a tower building, the residential units were located in corner positions, so as to be able to take advantage of at least two external views.
There is an independent entry to the floors set aside for the service industry with respect to the residential portion of the building, located in the centre of the south wall, in a location in full view, near the large pedestrian square.
A stairway and lift located in the centre of the area assure connection to the floors above.
The building appears as a parallelepiped block with plate-glass with a very simple composition from which the residential floors above break away.
The latter are different due to the marked horizontal lines of the continuous balconies that become gradually less frequent on the upper floors, giving more force to the vertical lines thanks to the projecting bodies of the bow windows of the bathrooms and kitchens.
The last four floors are further characterised by the presence of avant-corps.
A well-constructed system of movable shades (shutters, curtains, Venetian blinds, roll-up shutters) stands out on the four façades.
Two buildings for commercial use lie on the other side of the pedestrian square.
Businesses are organised in lots of various sizes: from local shops to medium-sized areas. All the commercial areas overlook the public area: via Orvieto, the public square, the access road between via Orvieto and the pedestrian square.
Some of the commercial premises on two levels overlook the roof that can be used for hanging gardens.
The structure is entirely prefabricated; the façades are covered in stone.
Garages for sufficient public and private parking to favour the flow of traffic and improve accessibility to the district are located in the two underground floors, both for the businesses established and park. users.
Lot 4 is mainly for public residences and includes 4 buildings each with an L-shaped configuration, arranged differently in order to form two open courtyards opening towards the park to the west.
In the internal distribution of the housing units, more favourable orientations were given priority and therefore the living rooms and kitchens were arranged in the sunny side (to the east, but mostly south and west towards the park) while the view to the north was kept for the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Besides, as far as possible, an attempt was made to have the living area (living rooms and kitchens) overlook the terraces so that the interior area could enjoy and make use of a practical area outside.
For the sleeping area, small balconies were planned, except for several floors towards the road where views over large balconies were given priority.
From a strictly architectural point of view the buildings appear fairly animated with broken lines – the height is not constant, but varies for each building – creating a pleasant effect of lightness and freedom with the contrast of full and empty spaces.
This effect is enhanced by the use of flat roofs.
To emphasize this sense of lightness, the façades are marked horizontally by three areas treated differently: a bossy foundation up to the second floor, an intermediate with outer wall in rough brick and continuous balconies, a last one at the top with well-constructed volumes treated with white plaster and balconies.