1. Keeping the fields in mind _ We unquestionably recognize several qualities in the existing building, and agree that its exceptional character is both architecturally and financially worth keeping. However, as a factory it is by definition a very enclosed space, which we find incoherent with its new use: a center for the arts. This is clear both in its shape, a large mechanism-like object, and in its expression, with continuous mirrored façades that don’t enlighten the observer more than a solid wall, if not giving him the sense of being observed from within. We think that these features don’t take advantage of the otherwise fairly ordered system of green spaces between standalone housing blocks, where one can always have a sense of the fields that surround Quarto Inferiore.
2. Adjustments in scale _ By removing the mirrored panes, we expose the buildings concrete skeleton, which we transform into a more open structure, sometimes by isolating certain elements, other times by absorbing the most design invested parts, breaking the original shape along existing axes. With subtle adjustments the building becomes a set of pavilions on a garden which is no longer enclosed by the limits of the plot.
We now have a smaller, denser pavilion, which is in much closer dialogue with the buildings nearby, and that houses a set of activities we grouped under the ‘produce’ word – studios and work spaces for guests, artists, teachers, craftsmen, startup creative companies etc. Closer to the street, a second and larger block contains the core of activities, which we named ‘share’ – this is where we can host workshops, informal classrooms or practice rooms, etc., all of them surrounded by gallery spaces. The third piece is, given by its temple-like character, the most public; called the ‘exhibit’ space, its position is the most visible and its façade the most open of the group, it is itself a large void where anything could happen from cinema, theatre or a conference, to exhibiting one single central piece in all its drama.
3. Clarifying an identity _ This configuration of the building demands a new image, one that is compatible with its renewed significance in the community and with the presence demanded to become a new landmark. Since the structure was already in place this is, as Gottfried Semper posed it, a matter of the enclosing. The language of the pavilions is then based on the concrete texture of the existing building, originating (or being integrated in) an array of concrete enclosings that would unify in material and distinguish in feel, from one more enclosed pavilion to the most open. This concept is then brought to the interior spaces, where the flexibility and comfort of space is achieved by thick curtains, now literally a form of weaving and simultaneously a way of working upon the textile tradition of the former factory.
