Designed from its origin with the dual purpose of hosting the 2009 G8 summit and recovering a point of touristic rebirth and economic development of an area long marked by its military stigma, the renovation of the ex military port near the town of La Maddalena, on the northern coast of Sardinia, includes the recuperation of 15.000m2 of public waterfront (developed along 2km of new equipped quays), a new conference center, hotel and recuperated existing structures destined for commercial use and nautical events.
Structured around a harbor of about 700 boats, the project is an articulated composition of new buildings, recovery and reuse of the structures of the ex Arsenal that covers a total area of 155.000 square meters and is inspired on a principle of dialogue with the context, identity and history of the site.
Plausibly the most representative of the interventions, the Conference Hall is a glass and basalt prism that cantilevers over the water. Almost 2000m2, the new construction hosts a large event and conference hall suspended 6 meters above water that looks out towards the extraordinary panorama of the Gallura. A dislocated geometry put in evidence by the structural feat (a combined concrete and steel system) and the modular bee-hive like façade made of opaline glass characterize the new landmark that reinterprets, in contemporary key, the relation between the power of the surrounding natural elements and the rigorous forms of Italy’s traditional military architecture.
Adjacent to the ConferenceCenter, the traditional granite arcades of the spaces used for the military car fleet have been restructured to host the Nautical Pole, a vast surface that groups commercial, exhibition and educational spaces linked to nautical and touristic activities. The architecture, a open plan arrangement of different programs, is characterized above all by the 10.000m2 white sail-like roof, suspended 10 meters from the ground and equipped with photovoltaic panels for the production of energy.
Other interventions include the recovery and restructuring of the ex Bunker into a 4.000m2 space apt for hosting recreational and sport activities and, to the north side of the ex Arsenale, upon the quay, a small area dedicated to hotel accommodation and services that include a hotel, SPA and wellness center, pool, a large restaurant and a 600 seat conference hall.
Due to the incorporation of heat exchange systems that use seawater for the heating and cooling of the buildings, of solar panels for the production of hot water, and of large photovoltaic surfaces that produce energy from renewable resources, the project is in its totality a model of sustainable practice tuned to the preservation of the extraordinary qualities of the Mediterranean landscape and the natural biodiversity that distinguish the archipelago of La Maddalena.
Project information
Year: 2008-2009 (completed)
Location: La Maddalena, Sardinia
Client: Italian Ministry of the Interior
Total area of intervention: 155.000m2
Ex-Arsenal perimeter: 3.9km
Harbor: 128.000m2
Boat capacity: 700
Quay: 4.400m2 over a length of 1.9km
Conference hall: 2.230m2
Nautical pole: 8.240m2
Hotel: 13.400m2
Sport and wellness center: 3.300m2
Green areas: 30.000m2
Asphalt: 23.000m2
Public spaces and paths 15.300m2
Employed personnel: 1600 workers, technicians and designers.
LA MADDALENA Ex Arsenale - January 2008 /June 2009
Architectural design
Stefano Boeri
With
Michele Brunello (Project Coordination)
Davor Popovic (Project leader Main Conference and Delegate Area)
Barbara Cadeddu (Project leader for interventions outside the Arsenal)
2+1 Officina Architettura (Architect Responsible for the Arsenal Residence Definitive Project)
Vincenzo Vella (Architect Responsible for the Arsenal Residence Executive Project)
Liverani / Molteni architets (Architect Responsible for the CateringBuilding)
Marco Brega (Director Stefano Boeri Architetti)
And:
Javier Deferrari (Main Conference, Delegate Area)
Andrea Grippo (Master plan and external areas, Delegate Area)
And with:
Eugenio Feresin (Arsenal Residence)
Marco Tradori (Arsenal Residence)
Costantina Verzì (Outdoor areas)
Marco Dessì (External areas)
Marco Giorgio (Main Conference)
Daniele Barillari (Main Conference, Delegate Area)
Mario Bastianelli (Main Conference)
Maurizio Burragato (Delegate Area)
Andrea Barbierato (Delegate Area)
With the contribution of:
Alessandro Agosti, Lorenza Baroncelli, Stefano Baseggio, Kristina Drapic, Moataz Faissal Farid, Stefano Onnis, Edoardo Boi, Alessandro Gioffrè, Inge Lengwenus, Piergiorgio Loi, Corrado Longa, Yari Marongiu, Fabrizio Piras, Sebastian Russi, Vittorio Secci, Walter Dejana
Consultants
Furnishing and Outdoor areas: Maddalena De Ferrari and Andrea Balestrero A 12
Landscape: Emanuela Borio and Laura Gatti
Technical consultants: Favero & Milan
Lighting: Ferrara Palladino
Video: Attu Studio
Visualization Area 4: Stack Studios
Visualization Area 5: Studio Cast & Ello and Arch. Gianni Dedola
Models: ON&OFF and Sebastiano Conti Gallienti
Hall and Presidential Suite Hotel Interior Design: Antonio Marras with Stefania Beltrame
General contractor: ANEMONE COSTRUZIONI S.r.l.
Proyect coordination on behalf of the companies: Domenico Lombardo
Structure lots 4 and 5: ITALINGEGNERIA
MEP Engineering lots 4 and 5: ENETEC S.r.l.
Special acknowledgment to Bodino Engineering, GVM Giulio Vanelli Marmi, Teleya, Kaser, and all the other companies that have worked for the realization of the project.
The Commissioner appointed by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Dott. Guido Bertolaso, Head of the Dipartimento di Protezione Civile (Department for Civil Protection) was in charge of coordinating all initiatives and interventions.
The Struttura di Missione (operational structure) of the Council Presidency, coordinated by Ing. Mauro della Giovampaola has overseen the realization of the interventions.