Antonio Ravalli – Former Magazzini Generali

PROJECT: Antonio Ravalli – Former Magazzini Generali

LOCATION: Verona, Via Santa Teresa 2 - Former Magazzini Generali [40°1233.1 N - 8°25'32.3" W]

YEAR: 2017

ARCHITECT / FIRM: Antonio Ravalli Architetti + RTP M28

BUYER: Fondazione Cariverona (until 16/10/2015) - Torre SGR SpA (from 16/10/2015)

SURFACE: 3.000 sqm

PRICE: € 4.000.000

DESCRIPTION:
The idea of establishing general warehouses in Verona dates back to 1865-1870, but it will be only in the first decades of the Twentieth century they will be realized. Agreement between promoters, the Municipality of Verona, the Province, and the Chamber of Commerce, financially support by the local saving bank, started in 1919 and ended creating the non-profit organization 'Magazzini Generali Verona' in 1924. During the Thirties was built the first refrigerator, the second Specialized Refrigeration Station, the new buildings for administrative use (including building no. 15), and the Building no. 16 to host the Customs offices, now restored by Antonio Ravalli, facing the Porta Nuova gate, from which came the rail link that ran through the entire complex.

DESCRIPTION:
The intervention is part of a process of urban renewal of a large abandoned area in the city of Verona, an area in turn contained in a degraded zone of the city. In the will of the administration, former owner and promoter of the recovery operation, the intervention envisaged a large cultural space for the city, a program that was only partially implemented. The functional program includes the insertion of some Professional Associations, a design school and small neighbourhood shops. The 2005 Master Plan was largely disregarded after the change of ownership in 2008, when the program begun to take the form of a real estate investment, with the exclusion from the Master Plan of cultural functions by the new owner, an Asset Management Company.

DESCRIPTION:
Since 2015 the whole area was owned by Fondazione Cariverona and managed by connected Investment Funds, now Buildings no. 15, 16, and 17 are wholly owned by a German Asset Management Company. Since 2011 the Association of Architects of Verona has proposed itself as a collaborator to the property for a training project, that would lead to the creation of a hub for the Professional Associations to be included in Building 15, the former customs at the north top of the sector.

- SURFACE present NO VARIATION,

TOTAL CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The overall dimensions are equal to the pre-existing surface.

- VOLUME present NO VARIATION,

TOTAL CONSERVATION / CONTINUITY: The overall dimensions are equal to the pre-existing volume.

DESCRIPTION:
The floors of the three levels above ground were completely demolished and rebuilt, within the same walls, which has been preserved and restored. The existing volumes and floor surfaces have remained unchanged, so as the function, remained dedicated to service sectors.

DESCRIPTION:
The new intervention has led to the complete replacement and reconstruction of the interior spaces, while maintaining the original spatial layout. Due to the new mandatory anti-seismic requirements, quite all the design program was dedicated to let the structural elements to statically perform according to the technical request.

DESCRIPTION:
The property has sets, as a condition of the project, to bring the building, that is mainly built in stone, to a condition of seismic resistance equal to 60% of a seismic adjustment, compared to a medium-low investment. The result is that the economic proportion of structural consolidation absorbs almost fifty percent of the amount of the work.

DESCRIPTION:
The used materials are adequate to the structural choice: structural parts in exposed concrete, light floors in metal and wood, systems contained in large technical walls.

DESCRIPTION:
The goal is to make the building transformation process explicit. All the preserved part is treated with a non-pigmented natural lime plaster. The internal structures are made in contrast with the wooden partitions. The remaining glass separations try to return the size of the factory even from the inside.