Set in a particularly degraded area where the
buildings and their finishes heterogeneously recall the typical residential
architecture of Southern Italy, the Incà project by Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners
is modular, flexible and matching and it can be sold or rented even when the
buildings are completed, as when the project was started the final users were
still unknown.
The complex consists in 7x7 m blocks for the offices
and in 7x21m ones for industrial areas composed of nearby modules that can be
connected to each other. Every module features a private square in front of it
with a shelter for goods to be loaded and unloaded from both the building’s
front or back yard.
The office block and the industrial warehouse are
conceived as two independent structures, connected by a shelter that stretches
over the offices, uniting the whole industrial complex.
Though it is made of standard prefabricated buildings,
the Incà project boasts a really personal look thanks to the original assembly
or treatment.
As a matter of fact, every single block in white
concrete has been clad in grey laminated panels. The inside is
characterised by high visibility and natural lighting thanks to a 7-metre open
space.
The industrial warehouse consists in prefabricated
blocks with typical triangular trusses, divided into two parts and laid
matching the lower wings to create butterfly-shaped structures,
lending the building an original and at the same time Mediterranean look.
Besides, this solution enables to directly connect the warehouse to the
offices, from which you have a privileged view over the activities carried out
inside the warehouse.
The outside parts and the landscape of the whole
industrial complex have been personalized with a hyper-graphics that plays a
guiding as well as decorative role.
The Incà project by Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners boasts
a pleasant and cosy micro-urban setting, thus making it a reference point for
Barletta. It is even an interesting point for activities, other than the
industrial-based ones.
The insertion of other working activities such as
graphic and photography labs or dance schools required the creation of a new
office building on the central lot.

The latter stands out among the
others for its simple look. It is a 12x70 m box with just one staircase placed
in the middle of it.
To lend transparency and visual movement to the
building, the main front features a large glazed window, irregularly interspersed with white sunscreen panels, while the back front is
characterised by an as much irregular series of openings and shelters.

The interiors welcome administrative offices on two
levels with a single cantilevered balcony.
In designing even this office building, Alisi Kirimoto
+ Partners focused on modular finishes, starting from the prefabricated panels
in concrete or grey laminate to the glass surfaces.
The attention to the architectonical details and the
simple space organization lend the building a sober and original character.

PROJECT CREDITS
- client: Edil Bari Srl
- location: Barletta, Italy
- architects: Alvisi Kirimoto + Partners (Massimo Alvisi, Junko Kirimoto, Alessandra Spiezia, Arabella Rocca, Carolina Ossandon Avetikian, Chiara Quadraccia) with: Leonardo Lorusso, Raffaella Maddaluno, Koichi Tayama
- Construction company: Edil Bari Srl
- Structural engineering: Antonio Salzo, Salvatore Cafagna / Civil
- soil and survey: Studio Tecnico Tumulo e Dinuzzi / Project
- management: Michele Il Grande

PROJECT SCHEDULE
- design: 2002
- groundbreaking: 2008
- opening: 2010

PHOTOS
all photos, unless otherwise noted, are by Luigi Filetici (http://www.luigifiletici.it)