THE FRIDGE
The Fridge is a proposal for an international competition in Cuneo, Italy. awarded with an honourable mention by the jury. The project consisted in the reuse of a former military fridge and warehouse abandoned for many years, aiming to transform it into a new multipurpose cultural hub.
This project is the result of the collaboration between Orttus (Paolo Catrambone) and 4051 (Francesca Mavaracchio, Nicola Ragazzini).
The fridge is a project based on the idea of working with the existing ruins as a found space: an existing element to make part of our proposal enhancing its qualities.
The external walls are kept and structurally reinforced in order to become part of the new program planned by the brief.
The lower level has been thought as an open flexible space both available for exhibitions and workshops in direct continuity with the new courtyard reopened on the backside of the former fridge.
A new floor is inserted within the existing building height extending the exhibition space to the new upper floor.
The education area is all located on an additional upper floor on top of the existing structure where lecture rooms, studying areas and living rooms are located.
This whole new floor is completely opened towards the existing square, in order to establish a direct and visual connection with the city having all the new rooms overlooking the square.
In order to calibrate the amount of natural light and the heat generated by the large glazing, a perforated shed is placed along the upper floor main facade.
This shed idea recalls the traditional alpine roof structures typical of the Piemonte region of the city of Cuneo and serve as a breakdown element in order to better calibrate the scale of the new building.
The whole proposal aims to start from the existing to define a new chapter of the building life, opening an existing ruin to the city and the people through a diverse cultural oriented program.
