Factory City To Education City Primary Function: Ikinamico Gikora Imirimo Myinshi by Ying Bi and Siyu Bai

Factory City To Education City Primary Function: Ikinamico Gikora Imirimo Myinshi by Ying Bi and Siyu Bai is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze in Igishushanyo cy'Ubwubatsi Competition Category.

BuronzeUbwubatsi· 2026

Factory City To Education City Primary Function: Ikinamico Gikora Imirimo Myinshi

by Ying Bi and Siyu Bai

Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze Winner in Ubwubatsi Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Factory City To Education City Primary Function: Ikinamico Gikora Imirimo Myinshi

Book Text: Uyu mushinga ugaragaza ubwo umurage w'inganda wa Ivrea wateguwe bushya nk'ikigo cy'uburezi n'umuco cya none. Binyuze mu gukoresha ku buryo bushya inyubako z'umucanga zisanzweho no kongeramo inyubako nshya z'icyuma zigizwe n'ibice byateguwe, igishushanyo gihindura aho hahoze hakorerwa imirimo y'inganda hakaba urufatiro rufitanye isano rwo kwiga, gukora imikino, no kubaho hamwe rusange. Ikinamico, ahantu hakora imirimo myinshi, n'umugongo ufunguye wo kunyura hamwe bigize ahantu h'umudugudu hagira ubwoba bw'aho urwibutso rw'inganda ruhinduka ubwubatsi buzima bw'ubumenyi.

The Recognition

About the Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze

Factory City To Education City Primary Function: Ikinamico Gikora Imirimo Myinshi ni uwegukanye Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Buronze, ishimwe ry'agaciro gakomeye ritangwa ku bishushanyo by'indashyikirwa birangwa no guhanga, ubwenge n'ubushishozi. Abegukanye Buronze ni ibihangano bifite ubuhanga bwinshi kandi bihanga cyane, bishimangira uburambe, ubwenge n'ubushobozi bw'ababihanze. Factory City To Education City Primary Function: Ikinamico Gikora Imirimo Myinshi biteganyijwe ko izaba ikintu cyubahwa, gishimwa kandi gikundwa, gifite ubunyamwuga n'udushya. Iki gishushanyo cyegukanye Buronze gikoresha uburyo bwiza mu buhanzi, ubumenyi, ubushushanyo n'ikoranabuhanga kandi kirarenze mu gutaha ku tuntu duto. Factory City To Education City Primary Function: Ikinamico Gikora Imirimo Myinshi ishimisha ibyo dukeneye, ikora ku byifuzo byacu, itwara amarangamutima yacu kandi ikurura amatsiko yacu.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The project transforms an industrial social-services complex into a modular educational campus. Existing concrete buildings are reactivated through light interventions, while new steel structures house a theatre and multifunctional spaces. A connecting public spine integrates learning, culture, landscape, and civic life, turning industrial heritage into a flexible framework for knowledge production.
Dimensions & Packaging: Approximate site area: 8,000 sq.m. The project consists of a theatre volume and a multifunctional educational building connected by semi open circulation. The theatre is approximately 15 m x 23 m x 16 m, using a long span steel roof structure. The multifunctional building is organized on three levels with modular structural bays. Main materials include existing reinforced concrete, steel framing, metal roof decking, insulation, waterproofing membrane, glazing, and perforated metal cladding.
Tags: adaptive reuse, industrial heritage, educational campus, modular steel structure, theatre design, multifunctional building, public space, civic architecture, Olivetti, Ivrea
Production Technology: The project is realized through a hybrid system of adaptive reuse and lightweight steel construction. Existing concrete structures are preserved and reactivated with minimal intervention, while new volumes use a modular steel frame, long span roof trusses, metal roof decking, insulated build-up roofing, and perforated metal cladding. The theatre integrates acoustic wall lining, suspended acoustic reflectors, lighting grids, sprinkler coordination, and mechanical ducts within a clear structural logic.
Design Challenge: The main challenge was to transform a historically industrial site into a contemporary educational and cultural campus without losing its original spatial identity. The design had to balance preservation and intervention, integrating existing concrete structures with new modular steel construction. Another key challenge was to create a clear relationship between theatre, learning spaces, and public circulation while maintaining flexibility, technical performance, and a strong civic character.
Research: The research investigates how industrial heritage can be transformed into a contemporary educational environment. It combines site analysis, historical study of Ivrea and the Olivetti legacy, program development, and architectural prototyping. The project studies adaptive reuse, modular steel construction, and spatial connectivity as strategies to integrate learning, performance, and public life within an existing industrial fabric.
Inspiration: The project is inspired by Ivrea's industrial legacy and the social vision of the Olivetti factory city. Rather than preserving the site as a static monument, the design explores how industrial structures can support contemporary education, culture, and public life. It draws from adaptive reuse, modular construction, and the transformation of production into knowledge.
Project Duration: The project was developed in 2026 as an architectural competition proposal for the Olivetti Theatre site in Ivrea, Italy. It explores the transformation of the former industrial context into a contemporary educational and cultural campus through adaptive reuse, modular construction, and public space integration.
Operation Flow: The project operates as a connected campus where learning, performance, and public life are brought together through a clear spatial sequence. Visitors move through open pathways, landscape platforms, and shared gathering spaces that link the existing buildings with the new theatre and multifunctional programs. This flow encourages informal interaction, flexible use, and a continuous relationship between education, culture, and civic activity.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Siyu Bai, Ying Bi, 2026.
Team Members: Ying Bi, Siyu Bai
Image Credits: Ying Bi, Siyu Bai