A thousand days of construction to give back to the city, from 30 September, the new beating heart of creativity, culture and entertainment projected towards the world. One hundred million euros invested by the CRT Foundation for the rebirth of the OGR, the "cathedral" of the industrial history of Turin. High-tech solutions, environmental sustainability, preservation of the historical value of the original structure, flexibility and modularity of the spaces, maximum usability throughout the year, accessibility for all, are the inspiring principles of the major restructuring and functional recovery of the OGRs, an important XNUMXth-century real estate compendium located in the heart of Turin: from former train repair workshops to new workshops for contemporary culture, innovation and business acceleration, with a strong international vocation.
The entire industrial archeology complex – including the majestic H-shaped building of approximately 20.000 square meters of surface area and 16 meters high, the office buildings and all the uncovered areas – was redeveloped by the CRT Foundation which, through its own an instrumental body such as the OGR-CRT consortium company, made use of the professional and entrepreneurial skills of the territory. The financial resources put in place by the CRT Foundation, amounting to 100 million euros, have therefore acted as a driving force for the local economy right from the early stages of planning and construction of the works, launched on 30 July 2014 under the guidance of the Secretary General of the CRT Foundation and General Manager of OGR Massimo Lapucci, making use of the Project Manager Arch. Marco Colasanti.
“The OGRs are the most extraordinary challenge in all of the 25-year history of the CRT Foundation – explains the President of the CRT Foundation and of the OGRs Giovanni Quaglia -: there have been so many complexities, but also the enthusiasm of reviving a beautiful place and unique, a strong element of the city community, opening it up to the world. Without the capacity for vision and the enormous financial commitment of the Foundation, today the OGR would be an abandoned place with no future, a wound for the community, with problems for the safety of people, livability and the environment. This was not the case and, thanks also to the commitment of many professionals and the collaboration with the institutions, we cross the finish line together, because the OGRs, reborn with the CRT Foundation, truly belong to everyone".
“From a design point of view, the new OGRs are the result of a courageous vision – affirms the Secretary General of the CRT Foundation and General Manager of the OGR Massimo Lapucci -. A general restructuring would have allowed limited and partial use of the former workshops, but I thought we needed to look further: to make this 'cathedral' of Turin's industrial history one of the engines of local development”.
"Fondazione CRT - continues Lapucci - has always been very committed to innovation and the creation of value for the City, and I therefore believed it was necessary to concentrate on imagining the future of the OGRs in order to then be able to carry out the most suitable redevelopment for the new life of the vast complex real estate. Above all, it was necessary to throw the heart over the obstacle and put the OGR in a position to fit into an international context, capable of maintaining the historical identity of 'Officina', but making it the place for the generation and regeneration of ideas. On these bases, the OGRs, in addition to being the largest investment by the CRT Foundation on a single project, are today one of the most important entities inspired by the principles of venture philanthropy in Europe and, consistently with our mission, are always attentive to the positive on the local economy".
Two new squares in the heart of the city
The massive recovery operation of the OGR, on a total area of 35.000 square meters, enriches and completes the new urban configuration of the "Spina 2" area - the north-south development axis of the city generated by the construction of the railway link –, reinforcing its strategic value for the area. In an area characterized by the simultaneous presence, within a few hundred meters, of the Porta Susa high-speed railway station, the Polytechnic University, the Energy Center, important private research centres, cultural institutions of excellence and the next congresses, the fundamental piece of the new OGR is inserted, as a hub for experimentation and production of contemporaneity in continuous transformation and dialogue with protagonists of art and innovation on a global level.
The urban reorganization of this part of the city - for the implementation of which the CRT Foundation has supported the Municipality of Turin - also sees the creation from scratch of two public squares, real agoras functionally connected to the Workshops, but freely usable by all as of relaxation, reflection, meeting and socializing throughout the day: the East Court, overlooking Corso Castelfidardo, with open-air works of art - the first public and site-specific installation will be "Procession of Reparationists", created by William Kentridge, one of the leading exponents of contemporary art worldwide - and the inclusion in the texture of the pavement of both artistic elements, such as, for example, the metal profiles to symbolize the old railway tracks, and urban furniture, such as the hills and the benches inspired by the design of train locomotives; the West Court, on via Borsellino, with a garden characterized by the ancient water tower and a stage, an ideal place for events, shows, exhibitions, catering and aperitifs en plein air.
Precisely in correspondence with the two Courts, the preliminary campaign of environmental investigations made it possible to identify the presence of two underground tanks containing residues from the industrial past of the OGR which, for about a century, between the end of the XNUMXth century and the end of the XNUMXth century, were one of the main Italian poles for the construction and repair of locomotives and railway vehicles. Under the high supervision of the competent authorities, the two underground tanks were reclaimed, the project for the permanent safety of all the external areas was drawn up and approved, and all the necessary works were carried out to regenerate the quality of the environment , in order to offer citizens new public spaces to live freely.
The new workshops: factory of ideas, factory of the future
The initial hypothesis of only "making the structure safe" has evolved into a stronger and more courageous idea for the vision and objectives of the CRT Foundation, which has fielded the largest direct investment on a single project, as well as one of the greatest examples of venture philanthropy in Europe today. All this, according to a 2.0 philanthropy model, in which a private non-profit entity such as the Foundation allocates its own resources for public purposes, with attention to sustainability and balance of accounts, through a mix of activities: from the visual arts performance to technology and business acceleration, from food to virtual reality.
In detail, the multiple intended uses – the missions of the reborn OGR – defined in the Convention stipulated in May 2013 with the City of Turin and updated in May 2017 – make the new Officine the only example of industrial conversion in Europe with three “ souls” that integrate with each other as an ecosystem for the development and growth of the cultural, social and economic capital of the area: artistic research in all its forms (in the Officine Nord), scientific, technological and industrial research (in the Officine South starting from 2018), food and wine with food & beverage administration activities aimed at enhancing, in particular, short-chain productions (in the Transept).
From an architectural and building point of view, the new interventions safeguard the perception of large volumes and great heights everywhere, have a minimal impact on the original structure, are reversible and recognizable in the new materials, colors and choices of detail.
The theme of accessibility has also guided the redevelopment: in this regard, to offer an optimal fruition for all and a reception service capable of responding to the many needs of the different audiences, a constructive dialogue has been activated with the Council for People in Onlus difficulty.
"The CPD - explains the Director of the Consulta Giovanni Ferrero - for almost thirty years in the regional territory, has been involved in promoting activities to protect the rights of people with disabilities, activating awareness campaigns on the issue and carrying out interventions in compliance with equal opportunities for recognition of the rights and duties of all. I believe that this collaboration presents itself as an important sign of openness towards the different targets who will live the OGR experiences, to offer services and appointments capable of making everyone feel protagonists while respecting everyone's characteristics".
Officine Nord: contemporary arts
The spaces, designed to be multifunctional over a total area of about 9.000 square meters (200 meters in length), will host, in continuous rotation, exhibitions, shows, concerts - from classical to electronic music - theater events, dance and even immersive virtual reality experiences, in a real digital gallery.
In particular, the visual arts will be located in the three western "tracks" of the Officine Nord, the performing arts in the east wing, which maintains the ancient name of "Sala Fucine": the latter is equipped with a stage at variable heights ( whose volume creates the effect of a “box within a box”), of mobile and retractable public stands, of a control room. The heart of the Officine Nord is the "Duomo": the imposing 19-metre-high hall - where the train carriages were positioned vertically for maintenance - will be used for symposiums, workshops and conferences, to underline the change in the mission of the OGRs , from the repair of trains to the repair and regeneration of ideas.
Some murals on the walls, traces of the building's past, have been preserved to make them visible to the public, in a game of cross-references and contaminations between memory and the contemporary.
Officine Sud: the international innovation hub
A long promenade of about 200 meters will cross the Officine Sud, which maintain the historical image of the central nave in its entirety, and are enveloped in the natural light that descends from the roof and from the windows. In the two side bays – where the insertion of the metal stairwell recalls the “wagon pusher” of the past –, the glazed environments for the meeting rooms and the open space office blocks on two floors, modular and flexible to allow the continuous presence to 499 people, testify to the renewed identity of the place: hub for research, "attractor" and accelerator of the best innovative start-ups, hub for project development in the creative industries sector, laboratory dedicated to Smart Data, functional experimentation center also for ad hoc content proposal for the Officine Nord public. A mission alongside important national and international partners, including the Polytechnic University of Turin, the Isi Foundation for research on Big Data, the United States Embassy in Italy and the US State Department for BEST (Business Exchange and Student Training) : the bilateral Italy-USA program, of which the OGR will be the "home", aimed at encouraging the creation of high-tech start-ups in our country after a period of education and training of young talents in Silicon Valley.
Adjacent to the South Channel, the so-called. Superfetazione, i.e. the building dating back to the XNUMXs, will house the ticket office, the bookstore, the Control Room for the control of the security apparatus and the functioning of the systems.
Transept: the Officine del gusto will be called "Joint"
Between the two North and South workshops, in correspondence with the Transept, there will be a large space of about 2.000 square meters with a mezzanine dedicated to taste: it will be symbolically called Snodo, will have a strong link with the Piedmontese food and wine supply chain, and will be open from breakfast until after dinner, 7 days a week. To meet the needs of different audiences – OGR visitors, students, young people, business communities, families, etc. – the taste experience, in the name of the creativity of the proposals, will be developed in five areas of Snodo: two restaurants (one of which is "premium", with an open kitchen and performances by the chefs who will be able to prepare the dishes directly in front of the customers), a mezzanine lounge area also available for dedicated events, a cocktail bar on the West Courtyard for aperitifs in both summer and winter, a smart bar with "social table" with a record length of 7 metres, designed as a meeting point, aggregation and relaxation to consume meals or drinks by leafing through your tablet or PC.
The artwork "Track", commissioned to the Venezuelan artist Arturo Herrera, will also characterize the Transept: the large mural will be housed on the access wall to the Officine Nord, becoming a sort of threshold for entry into the sleeve of the building dedicated to the arts. The work was specifically designed for the space, and takes its cue from the site's railway past. The mural will be composed of an intricate network of lines that can recall a track layout and which, with their branching out in various directions, suggest in an abstract way some of the key values of the new space: interconnection, fluidity and dynamism.
The metamorphosis of OGRs: the complexity of redevelopment
Between safeguarding the identity and memory of the OGRs and the application of new technologies while respecting the environment, the redevelopment of the OGRs was a complex undertaking, due to the existing architectural and historical-artistic constraints, the degree of deterioration of the structure abandoned for decades, the extension and peculiarities of the site characterized by unknowns of various kinds and by factors of environmental and war pollution, the multiplicity of intended uses and types of users, and even the emergence during construction some unpredictable elements, which led to the adoption of supplementary and technical variants. Numerous variant projects were therefore drawn up subject to prior assessment by the Superintendence, and the competent authorities for issuing authorizations (Turin City Council, Prefecture, Metropolitan City, Superintendence, Fire Brigade, Asl) issued a total of 27 authorization measures.
In particular, the works on the roofs at the start of the construction site have highlighted problems in the tightness of the trusses and the related iron struts, of the secondary beams (purlins) to support the roofs, of the elements capable of absorbing the thrusts and ensuring the stability of the structures (bracings), of the wooden carpentry, making necessary interventions at height on 8.000 structural nodes. In total, 800.000 kg of steel were used for carpentry, brackets and bolts: twice the weight of the International Space Station (ISS).
Another decisive challenge was the creation of a warm building, which can also be used in winter, in a 260.000th-century "envelope" with a volume of 1.200 cubic metres, double the size of the "Pirellone" skyscraper in Milan. In addition to the installation of technological heating and cooling systems, the performance of hot/cold transmission has been improved, with a careful eye to the containment of energy needs, resistance to wind and snow, and watertightness. In detail, all the windows and doors have been changed, with the installation of 10.000 windows and French windows (for a total area of 6.000 square metres), all with thermal break, of eight different types and of non-homogeneous widths: lined up, the new windows reach a height of 20 meters, equal to 20.000 times the Eiffel Tower. At the roof level, 20.000 square meters of roof panels were replaced, requiring four different positions for the lifting cranes. The works also involved the entire floor, with the installation of a radiant panel system for XNUMX square metres: an area equivalent to three football fields.
OGRs are now powered by groundwater, a sort of "thermal flywheel" that nature makes available and which, through the use of heat pumps for heating and cooling, allows for greater energy efficiencies compared to traditional systems with reduced emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in respect of the environment.
All the new plants (electricity, water, air, optical fiber) are 115 km long, equal to the distance between Turin and Aosta: in particular, 9.000 meters of water pipes were laid , 4.700 meters of ventilation ducts, 55.000 meters of electrical cables, 6.500 meters of optical fiber, 22.000 meters of copper data cables.
The internal lighting "dresses" the OGRs so as to enhance their environments: ground recessed luminaires for the accent light on the pillars, projectors for the grazing light on the metal trusses, "wall washer" projectors to ensure continuity with the light from the daylight and LED elements for diffused service lighting.
To guarantee the fire resistance of the OGR according to the regulations, it was necessary to protect all the metal support structures (cast iron trusses and columns) with 30.000 kg of intumescent paints applied, in the most critical cases, up to seven successive layers. The entire complex is equipped with various types of smoke and fire detectors (analogue optical, linear infrared and thermo-velocity detectors, i.e. sensitive to temperature variations) with a graphical interface and maps of the monitored areas, as well as, of course, a system extinguishing hydrants and sprinklers.
