NUOVO PALAZZO DELLA PROVINCIA DI BOLZANO – OFL ARCHITECTURE + RABATANALAB

The OFL Architecture + Rabatanalab concept for the new building of the Province of Bolzano, born from a sculpture idea generated by the desire to establish continuity with the past of the city of Bolzano, is seen as a re-construction of memories, spirit of places and iconological transposition of  the symbols of history of  the  architecture of the city.

From this ideological assumption, the innovative study carried out on the skin / facade of the new organism recalls one of the iconographic symbols of the city, the Duomo.

In fact, the trend of the ribs of the great vault’s “a crociera”, projected on the three naves, have permitted the extrapolation of the particular generator module of the new skin.

The plan of the Cathedral of Bolzano becomes the generator to the architectural composition of the entire facade of the new building, which looks organic, alive, pure and dynamically opens outwards into the whole territory. The proposal is the stylistic facade of a building put simply in terms of volume and floor plans. It consists of two cores for the vertical distribution with ladders and hydraulic lifts and also contains sanitary facilities and kitchenettes plan. This leads to various levels of offices free of pillars. The building comprises a total of 9 floors above ground and 2 underground levels. The ground floor consists of an arcade, obtained by pulling back the building’s perimeter wire of the main facade, thus allowing the integration between the road and the new building. The atrium entrance porch is an inviting area that separates the children’s area from a café and the accessibility of employees from passers-by.

A staircase leads to the mezzanine level architecture in which is distributed the functions of the common area such as the central store, the small meeting room, the exam room and a small closet. From the 1st to the 7th floor are located all the offices required by the functional program. Each office level also contains service rooms of photocopying, kitchenette and small archives, as well as shared toilets for men, women and the disabled. The offices are separated by frosted glass partitions and each has an opening window to provide the right natural ventilation and natural lighting.

The optimization of the exploitation of natural light is important not only for the visual comfort but also for energy conservation. The common areas will have devices to monitor / regulate consumption (time sensors, daylight sensors). The offices are of different cuts and in some cases have apertures of furniture to ensure greater flexibility and breadth of space, allowing for needed remodeling of different environments. One of the main goals was to make everything accessible to those who find themselves in conditions of reduced or impaired mobility or sensory impairment.

For the same ease of accessibility, it will be easy to reach the building, to enter and to enjoy the space and equipment in the appropriate safety and autonomy. On the roof there are technologies of solar thermal and photovoltaic panels. On the ground floor on the north side of the porch is the parking area for motorcycles and bicycles and the mobile plate of the car lift for access to the underground garage. The cars are distributed in the parking lot by a mechanized system. The basement holds the archive, technical rooms, warehouse, call center and the server, changing rooms and the cleaning storage rooms. A fire escape as an escape route connects the underground levels with the ground floor outside.

CREDITS

Plan’s title: Nuovo Palazzo Provincia di Bolzano
Location: Bolzano

Client: Comune di Bolzano

Phase: International competition | Entry

Area: 4500 sqm

Construction budget: 14M €

Project Design: OFL architecture + RABATANALAB

Project team: Francesco Lipari, Vanessa Todaro, Daniele Molinari, Rocco Salomone, Felice Allievi, Pasquale Tuttolomondo, MANENS spa
Timing: design 2011