BARILLA MUSEUM
ITALY, PARMA - With Ilya Evstigneev
TYPE: MUSEUM
YEAR: 2018
STATUS: CONCEPT
The project relates the geometry of silos, the typical industrial structure for the storage of wheat, with the landscape.
Through the interaction of two abstract planes with a series of cylinders of different sizes, a more complex, very permeable organism is formed, representing the past, present and future of the company.
In fact, the two floors, which form two different artificial landscapes, intend to represent the history of Barilla and its future perspective, while the cylindrical elements of different sizes intend to represent the current productive and cultural activities.
During the design process the two planes are deformed towards each other without ever touching, giving rise to an intermediate space in strong tension. The insertion of the cylinders make it possible to materialize this tension by generating the spaces that house the functions required by the program, in addition to the structural elements of the building, the circular openings necessary to bring light and air into the pavilion and to the vertical connections between the different levels.
On the south-east side the landscape ripples produce an opening where the main access of the pavilion is located. Around the entrance plaza, the landscape rises up to the first floor, allowing to cross the building without necessarily having to access it. Walking in the park everyone can enjoy the spatial and cultural richness of the pavilion and admire the nature surrounding the building, protected by the overlaying roof characterized by large holes and a light wood ceiling. If intrigued, however, the visitor can always easily access the functions at different levels.
The functions are distributed within four main cylinders, each containing a helical-staircase, lifts and services block.
The large entrance hall, lit and ventilated by large circular openings that host thematic gardens, allows to distribute the different activities on the ground floor. From the atrium it is possible to reach the above landscape through a large helical ramp that continues until reaching the terrace on the second level of the pavilion. In this space you are immersed in a very different environment compared to the one below. The slight depression of the structure does not allow to observe the context that surrounds the area if not through two terraces placed on the edge of the roof. The central area, paved with wooden slats, is entirely surrounded by a garden of wheat that partly surrounds the four glass cylindrical structures and is dematerialized by the circular holes placed in correspondence with the underlying structural elements.
The functions placed at this level are those most referring to the future of the company and its research in the food sector.
The particular shape of the roof allows the collection of rainfall that is conveyed in the two water ponds on the ground floor, while on its edges is located a band of photovoltaic panels. The cover also allows the control of the solar radiation for the floors below.