Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
A virtuous example of coexistence between the industrial and the agricultural world, Powerbarn by Giovanni Vaccarini Architetti in Russi (Ravenna, Italy)interprets the conversion process of part of an industrial area, once property of the Eridania sugar company, into a bioenergy production plant. Surrounded by dunes and natural pathways, the new pole for the production of electricity from renewable sources is fully encircled by the territory it derives its energy resources from. The architecture of the large furnace building, which dominates the area, offers mutable and faceted displays of itself. Its imposing mass is disguised by means of a wooden skin inspired by the Razzle Dazzle mimetic strategy of military origin. A short film by The Piranesi Experience and photos by Massimo Crivellari reveal its qualities.
Bounded to the North-West by the final stretch of the Lamone river, crossed by the railway line that leads from Faenza to Ravenna, bordered to the South-Eastby the Carrarone road (onto which its very entrance opens), the former industrial area, that once hosted the Eridania sugar factory, lies on the edge of a wide agricultural land. The area, adjacent to the city of Russi, in the province of Ravenna (Italy), is still dedicated to the historical cultivation of sugar beet and fruit trees,encompasses 47 hectares.
This large district, linked to one of the leading agri-food industries in the Italianen trepreneurial history, has now discontinued the production of sugar on this very site, keeping here only the boxing and storage phases, hosted in an area of about 46,000 square meters. Approximately 280,000 square meters of the site,including three large wetlands, have been restored, re-naturalized and given back to the community; while a program of conversion of the former industrial areas is underway for a part of the remaining area, measuring more than 167,000 square meters.
The new pole for the production of electricity from renewable sources is located in Russi, in the heart of the Italian region of Romagna. The project was designed by Giovanni Vaccarini Architetti, an architectural firm experienced in numerous environmental mitigation projects and well established both nationally and internationally. An environmental-oriented vision informs the master plan: in its integration with the agricultural and farming landscape, the buildings designed by Vaccarini surface from the ground as if they were crystals.
The master plan for the pole defines a low-tech environmental system originating from the design of the earthwork, that serves as an interface between the rural and industrial spheres. “The entire project starts with the design of its edges”, says Giovanni Vaccarini, explaining how he was able to carry out a clever environmental mitigation for the project through the presence of the “dunes” (an element typical of the Adriatic landscape) built along the entire perimeter of the area. With a height ranging between three and ten meters and surmounted by trees and pathways,accessible to both pedestrians and cyclists, the edge of this area was designed by Vaccarini as a natural embankment. Thus defined, the margins of the intervention create an interface between agriculture and energy production.
Project Credits:
Project: Powerbarn
Architects: Giovanni Vaccarini Architetti. Santo Riganello, Carlo Manganelli, Giovanni Pasqui, Venanzio Garau, Fernando Maltinti (project managers), Franco Meroni, Corrado Zampatti, Antonino Caronia (project engineering), Paolo Innocentini (site manager)
Site construction supervisor: Stefano Salvotti (Studio DueEsse)
Safety coordinator during the construction phase: Daniele Arasi (Techno-HSE)
Safety coordinator during the design phase: Alessandro Pazzi (Libra Ravenna)
Geologist: Studio Garassino
Landscape design: Antonio Stignani (Studio Paisà)
Environmental impact study: Corsi/Retini (Steam)
General contractor: Termokimik Corporation SpA FurnaceAET gmbh
Turbine and thermal cycle: OSI SpA
Architectural envelope: MAP SpA – metal carpentry
General construction: Impresa Salvati SpA
Electropower line: Cantamessa SpA