Factory City To Education City Multifunctional Theater

The single most meaningful design decision was to make connection the core of the project: the connection among the three main architectural components, and the connection between the buildings and the site.For the existing industrial building, we chose to open its façade and introduce a greater sense of permeability. This was not simply a formal gesture, but a way to let the old structure breathe again. By bringing in light, air, and movement, the former factory is no longer perceived as a closed monument of the past, but as an active vessel for new knowledge, exchange, and public life.At the same time, the two new buildings were designed to feel as if they emerge from the site. Rather than standing apart as isolated objects, they extend the logic of the ground, create new paths, and improve the accessibility of the entire area. Once a site becomes accessible, it also begins to create a reason and a desire for people to arrive. This desire to reach, enter, and participate is what brings vitality back to both the architecture and the urban ground.The thinking behind this choice was that industrial memory should not only be preserved visually; it should be reactivated through use, movement, and human presence. By making the project more open, connected, and breathable, we wanted the site to transform from a place of former production into a living educational environment where memory, knowledge, and public life can continuously interact.

The project creates a new spatial identity by treating the character of the Olivetti site as a foundation rather than something to be erased.We preserved the legibility of the existing industrial building through its scale, rhythm, material presence, and spatial atmosphere, while carefully opening it up to new light, air, movement, and public use. This gives the old structure a new sense of breath without turning it into a neutral container.At the same time, the two new buildings introduce a contemporary identity to the site. They are designed to feel as if they grow from the ground, extending circulation and improving accessibility rather than standing apart as isolated objects. Their role is to activate the site and connect its different parts, not to compete with the existing architecture.In this sense, the project does not erase the Olivetti site’s industrial memory. It transforms that memory into a living educational environment, where the past remains visible but is continuously renewed through new programs, movement, and human presence.

The hybrid structural strategy of steel framing and long-span trusses was chosen because it allowed us to meet the complex functional needs of the project while intervening in the existing fabric with restraint.The multifunctional theater requires large, open, and flexible spaces that can accommodate performances, lectures, exhibitions, and public gatherings. A steel structure with long-span trusses makes this possible by reducing the need for dense columns and allowing the interior to remain adaptable over time. This flexibility is important because an educational and cultural building should be able to support changing forms of use rather than being fixed to one single program.At the same time, the strategy reflects our understanding of sustainable intervention. Instead of demolishing or heavily altering the existing industrial structure, the new system works as a complementary layer. It introduces new structural capacity and spatial openness while allowing the original building to remain visible and meaningful. In this way, the existing built fabric is not erased, but given the ability to support a new public life.For us, responsible activation means extending the life of the existing architecture through careful and precise intervention. The steel frame and long-span trusses are therefore not only technical solutions; they are also a way to balance preservation, adaptability, and contemporary use. Through this hybrid logic, the Olivetti site can continue to carry its industrial memory while being transformed into a flexible environment for knowledge, culture, and community.