Frigerio Design Group, after winning a competition to design a new technical center for Ferrero in Alba, Italy, has recently unveiled more details for the project.
The proposal for the Italian multinational food company's new facility was selected for the human values of its design proposal, which features an industrial structure integrated into the landscape. The project was inspired by the scenery, nature, and colors of the Langhe, the hilly area located in the Piedmont region of northern Italy.
Â
Â
The Ferrero Technical Center stems from the need to combine the company’s engineering operations, in particular those devoted to designing new production lines, with the workshop where they are developed. These functions are not currently located within the factory.
The center will be a 136,700-sf ecological building that is nZEB (nearly Zero Energy Building) and will house 200 employees. It will be able to support management and operational functions for automated and interconnected production.
Simple and linear architecture conceals plants and technical equipment while maximizing all of the passive space and minimizing the resources needed for operations and maintenance. Technology is ubiquitous throughout the new center without ever becoming obtrusive. It is seamlessly integrated in a recognizable and reassuring architecture.
Â
Â
Transparency and opacity define the architecture of the building. The offices located on the top floor have transparent facades while the lower floors containing the workshop and plants are hidden from view. The great hall is entirely glazed and covers one end from ground to roof with a grand staircase that connects the building’s three floors.
The workshop is designed with a minimal and essential floorpan where white is the primary color. Openings in the facade capture natural light while preventing direct sunlight. The curtain walls in this area will have micro-perforated and sound-absorbing panels to improve the quality of internal acoustics and minimize any sound pollution.
Six green areas, dubbed the flying gardens by the architect, will perform a bioclimatic, acoustic, and aesthetic function on the top floor near the offices. Additionally, a photovoltaic system on the roof generates a peak of 300 kW.
The project broke ground in 2020 and is slated for completion in December 2021.
Â
Related Stories
| Nov 5, 2012
Brasfield & Gorrie awarded new steel processing facility for Kloeckner Metals
The construction will take place on a 16-acre greenfield site at ThyssenKrupp Industrial Park in Calvert.
| Jun 1, 2012
New BD+C University Course on Insulated Metal Panels available
By completing this course, you earn 1.0 HSW/SD AIA Learning Units.
| May 29, 2012
Reconstruction Awards Entry Information
Download a PDF of the Entry Information at the bottom of this page.
| May 24, 2012
2012 Reconstruction Awards Entry Form
Download a PDF of the Entry Form at the bottom of this page.
| Apr 25, 2012
Bubble skyscraper design aims to purify drinking water
The Freshwater Skyscraper will address the issue of increasing water scarcity through a process known as transpiration
| Dec 19, 2011
Survey: Job growth driving demand for office and industrial real estate in Southern California
Annual USC Lusk Center for Real Estate forecast reveals signs of slow market recovery.
| Nov 22, 2011
Saskatchewan's $1.24 billion carbon-capture project
The government of Saskatchewan has approved construction of the Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project.
| Oct 3, 2011
Balance bunker and Phase III projects breaks ground at Mitsubishi Plant in Georgia
The facility, a modification of similar facilities used by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Inc. (MHI) in Japan, was designed by a joint design team of engineers and architects from The Austin Company of Cleveland, Ohio, MPSA and MHI.