GRAIN WAREHOUSE REHABILITATION, OSTIANO, ITALY.

DESIGN TEAM:
Calvi Rollino, Cereda, Panarese Architetti

> Adaptive reuse, biophilia, environmental architecture, genius loci, place as system, regenerative design

Located in Ostiano, a small town in Northern Italy's Parco Oglio Sud naturalistic valley, this project involves the adaptive reuse of the ex-Consorzio Agrario buildings, including an abandoned grain warehouse that, despite its anthropological value, is not protected by heritage laws. As part of a broader program, the rehabilitation aims to requalify three districts in the country town, which will be home to a new company and its various divisions focused on the green economy sector. We have raised the bar for environmental awareness in that program by shifting from a sustainable to a regenerative approach. We believe that the true scope of design goes beyond mere sustainability, which usually minimizes or mitigates the impact of human activities on the environment. Instead, the ultimate goal should be to achieve a harmonious integration of human and natural systems, allowing them to co-evolve and improve current environmental conditions. The project, located in a residential area near downtown, involves the construction of the company's new administrative and representative headquarters, research and development laboratories, educational and exhibition rooms, as well as public areas for dining and recreation. The project integrates environmental, economic and sociocultural dynamics that enhance the regenerative power of the place. We conducted a thorough study of the territory and its history, which led us to emphasize the architectural identity of the massive volumes of the old grain warehouses by removing the superficial plaster coating and revealing the material essence of the brick walls. There are multiple reasons for recovering and using bricks for the walls and ground of the entire compound, including cultural, historical, logistic, aesthetic, and environmental reasons. In these territories, clay is the primary natural component of the soil, and its use in artisanal technologies and brick-making has been a hallmark of human activity since the Neolithic Era and the Roman period. The choice also took into account broader economic and environmental considerations: bricks, being naturally abundant, locally sourced, durable, and cost-effective, with stable performance and potential for future reuse or recycling, meet several regulatory requirements of recent Italian environmental criteria (CAM – Criteri Ambientali Minimi).