a new cultural hub in Tor Marancia will host the training centre of the Opera House - offering dance classes, a choir and orchestral training school -, and a community hub open to citizens for training and social development activities.
The lot forms the lower corner of a portion of residential fabric, bordered to the south by the encounter between the road axes of Via di Tormarancia and Via Odescalchi. To the north of the site, the slat buildings are arranged perpendicularly to Via di Tormarancia, resulting in a great permeability towards the inside of the lots. The new cultural center, located close to the northern border of the site, forms the last element of a rhythmic sequence which opens decisively towards the city in the corner.
The new project is thus configured as an urban hinge that articulates the new park open to the community.
The position of the large entrance portal in correspondence with the pedestrian path behind the church at the end of Via Accademia del Cimento, intends to activate positive dynamics between the two sides of Via di Tormarancia.
The choice of a compact block of three floors, reflects the desire to concentrate the functions to obtain spaces with a strong community value. The original shape is a block that is hollowed out in the center to determine a central hall where all the functions refer to. The central hall is placed in direct connection with the outside through the two portals, one at the entrance and one towards the garden. On the upper floors, the relationship with the outside is guaranteed through the subtraction of portions of the block to obtain open spaces.
We have focused our attention on articulating the areas of the community hub and the opera house in a single organism around the common spaces, while maintaining the privacy necessary for the related functions.
The spaces of the opera house are located in the buildings furthest from the street because of their relative autonomy; On the other hand the community hub is developed on three floors in the portion of the building most in contact with the garden instead, forming the pivot around which the central hall winds through the two portals.
On the ground floor the art center and the public areas of the various functions develop, reserving the upper floors for the classrooms.
The compactness of the building responds to the desire to free up as much space as possible around the building and reduce the impermeable surface. The new cultural centre is designed with particular attention to the definition of the outdoor areas as requested by the client.
In the parts open to the road to the south and east are located space for the entrance square and the garden of the community hub; to the north and west are located the parking and the garden of the opera house respectively.
The structure is made of laminated wood stiffened by reinforced concrete partitions at the central area and the two entrance portals. The constructive choice follows the relationship of the building with its surroundings: the load-bearing wooden partitions, arranged orthogonally to the facades on the south sides, ensure greater permeability towards the public side of the building; on the north sides, the wooden structure is covered with concrete panels that determine a greater closure of the building towards the parking lot and the private garden of the opera house. The vertical partitions on the southern sides of the building also perform the function of solar shading. The choice of construction materials also reflects the desire to sustainability material and speed of construction.
