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Factory City To Education City פֿונקציע: מולטיפֿונקציאָנעלער טעאַטער by Ying Bi and Siyu Bai

Factory City To Education City פֿונקציע: מולטיפֿונקציאָנעלער טעאַטער by Ying Bi and Siyu Bai is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award אין בראָנדז in אַרכיטעקטור, בנין און סטרוקטור דיזײַן Competition Category.


בראָנדזאַרכיטעקטור· 2026

Factory City To Education City פֿונקציע: מולטיפֿונקציאָנעלער טעאַטער

by Ying Bi and Siyu Bai

A' Design Award אין בראָנדז Winner in אַרכיטעקטור Category

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The Design

About Factory City To Education City פֿונקציע: מולטיפֿונקציאָנעלער טעאַטער

דער פּראָיעקט שטעלט זיך פֿאָר אױף ס'נײַ איוורעאַ'ס אינדוסטריעלע ירושה װי אַ מאָדערנער בילדונגס און קולטורעלער קאַמפּוס. דורך דעם אַדאַפּטיװן איבערניץ פֿון די עקזיסטירנדיקע באַטאָן־סטרוקטורן און די אַרײַנשטעלונג פֿון נײַע מאָדולערע שטאָלענע געבײַדעס, פֿאַרװאַנדלט די פּלאַנירונג אַ געװעזענע פּראָדוקציע־סבֿיבֿה אין אַ פֿאַרבונדענעם ראַם פֿאַר לערנען, פֿאָרשטעלונג, און עפֿנטלעכן לעבן. אַ טעאַטער, מולטיפֿונקציאָנעלע ערטער, און אַן אָפֿענער צירקולאַציע־רוקנבײן שאַפֿן צוזאַמען אַ בײגעװדיקע בירגערלעכע לאַנדשאַפֿט װוּ אינדוסטריעלע זכרון אַנטװיקלט זיך אין אַ לעבעדיקער אַרכיטעקטור פֿון װיסן.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award אין בראָנדז

Factory City To Education City פֿונקציע: מולטיפֿונקציאָנעלער טעאַטער איז אַ געווינער פֿון דעם A' Design Award אין בראָנדז, אַן העכסט פּרעסטיזשע אָנערקענונג וואָס ווערט געגעבן צו אויסגעצייכנטע דיזײַנס וואָס שטעכן אַרויס מיט קרעאַטיוויטעט, דערפֿינדונג און קלוגשאַפֿט. בראָנדז-געווינער זענען זייער בקיאותדיקע און אויפֿפֿאַלנדיק קרעאַטיווע אַרטיפֿאַקטן וואָס באַשטעטיקן די ברייטע דערפֿאַרונג, פֿאַנטאַזיע און דערפֿינדונג-קראַפֿט פֿון זייערע דיזײַנערס. פֿון Factory City To Education City פֿונקציע: מולטיפֿונקציאָנעלער טעאַטער ווערט דערוואַרט אַז עס איז אַ הויך געשעצטע, באַוווּנדערטע און ליבע זאַך וואָס איז אויפֿפֿאַלנדיק פּראָפֿעסיאָנעל און אינאָוואַטיוו. דער דאָזיקער געווינענדיקער דיזײַן פֿון A' Design Award אין בראָנדז פֿאַראײניקט די בעסטע פּראַקטיקן אין קונסט, וויסנשאַפֿט, דיזײַן און טעכנאָלאָגיע, און איז אויסגעצייכנט פֿאַר זײַן אויפֿמערקזאַמקייט צו דעטאַלן. Factory City To Education City פֿונקציע: מולטיפֿונקציאָנעלער טעאַטער באַפֿרידיקט באַדערפֿענישן פּראַכטפֿול, רירט אָן תּאוות, פֿאַרכּישופֿט געפֿילן און רופֿט נײַגעריקייט.

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

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