Facing the demands for a representative building with a “square” outside, it seemed crucial investigating how such an urban theme could be aptly interpreted within a wide industrial area close to a busy highway.
The intention is to encompass all the required internal and external spaces in a unique spatial sign; we believe that, due to the above-mentioned features of the site, the external area needs to be spatially contained but, meanwhile, this control has not to deprive the new building of the view on the surrounding workflows, its real lifeblood. A steel framework suspended on four concrete pillars defines the sequence of spaces and ensures perceptive unity: the “square” becomes the ideal extension of the internal hall; due to the suspended structure, these two spaces as a whole express a certain openness toward the surrounding and keep the potential to overflow in it. The hall is quadripartite, triple-height crossing voids trigger spatial tension; the experience of the space is complex and changeable.
The whole gatehouse/lodge is separated from the main building, nevertheless really close to it, its position naturally suggesting inflows paths.
The chance to introduce a new public building discloses the often-overlooked potential of a space incredibly summing up the usual features of many similar suburban areas. Looking for a wider contact with the surrounding, the new building opts for a radial orientation besides the bilateral one that the site expresses by itself; by way of its geometrical and expressive definition it aims to reshape the surrounding without blending in with it.