Alfa Romeo Gallery

A space to communicate the contents and the container at the same time, both exceptional: a former rolling mill from Ansaldo to house the setting up of the historic Alfa Romeo collection. Given the large size of the building to be transformed, in order to prevent the acceleration of perspective and the different scale of size from “canceling” the cars, an architectural solution was “invented”: the insertion of three large volumes, real exhibition pavilions, the whose design interprets the Alfa Romeo style. With their 40-60 meters of footprint and their descending height from 8 to 4 meters they offer an exhibition path inside them but also above them, with a promenade towards the Alfa brand which, with its 20 meters in diameter , stands out on the bottom of the nave. Along the nave, a large “communication wall” illustrates the history of design and advertising and the Alfa brand. “Hanging” on the wall of the shed, a restaurant overlooks the museum like a stage in an Italian-style theater. The rest of the spaces are designed to accommodate a warehouse that can be visited, a workshop for historic cars, an area equipped for the collection of specially fitted cars and a small test track.

credit

Project: Benedetto Camerana
Location: Milano, Bicocca area
Realization: Suspended
Client: Alfa Romeo B.U. (Fiat auto S.p.a.)
Procedure: Direct assignment
Consultants: Piero Brarda, Massimo Venegoni (staging), Luisella Italia (construction supervision), Flavio Modena (renovation)
Functions: Renovation of Bicocca area and project for Alfa Romeo’s exhibition set-up
Chronology: Architectural project (2002), executive project (2003)
Collaborators: Andrea Mantello (plastic model), Antonio Ravarino, Domenico Raimondi, Daniele Suppo (Visual eyes), Giancarlo Zucca, Marco Zummo
Dimensional data: 15.000 sqm
Total cost: 7.746.853.50 € (renovation of industrial buildings), 2.582.284,49 € (exibition area)
Photo credits: ©Camerana&Partners