Covered Market of Santo Stefano
Ferrara, Italy
TITLE
Redevelopment of the Ferrara Covered Market and conversion into a polyfunctional center
CLIENT
Public Works and Heritage Sector – Municipality of Ferrara
TYPE OF INTERVENTION
Redevelopment and Reconversion
SURFACE
1.800 mq
STATE
In progress
The Santo Stefano Market in Ferrara is part of the medieval fabric of the Emilian city. Built between 1958 and 1960, the market stands in an area bombed in one of the 297 air raids that occurred between 1943 and 1945, which caused 1,070 victims. The reinforced concrete and steel building is attributed, by the director of the Estensi Civic Museums Gualtiero Medri (1887-1970) and by the art historian Lucio Scardino (1957), to the paternity of the engineer Mario Fabbrini and the architect Giovanni Michelucci (1891-1990). It is the era in which in Italy the debate began on the methods through which to recover history without resulting in the mimicry of the revivals of the late nineteenth century and partly also of the first half of the twentieth century.
The treasure chest of typical products: the ancient Santo Stefano market is reborn in Ferrara.
Giovanni Michelucci is, in an original way, part of this cultural fervor. His study of nature in its forms and in its image, his gaze on history, the adaptation to the morphology of places, are dear design themes and also applied to the case of the Santo Stefano market.
The design strategy has placed emphasis on people and the quality of urban life and through the project aims to build a wide range of opportunities to make the space in which people live and work more pleasant through sustainable design. The architectural project for the redevelopment of the building arises from the need to respect the city's "market" function.
Therefore, conservative interventions were carried out in order to maintain the shops present along the perimeter, without distorting the architectural layout. The central area of the market was redesigned in anticipation of the possible installation of various prefabricated boxes within which it would be possible to perform different functions, from the strictly commercial one of the market to that of catering, or to be able to perform both functions based on needs. The boxes are designed in specific positions with the aim of creating internal paths and are interspersed with flowerbeds placed on the market pavement.
The internal space has also been made accessible to users with reduced mobility. The market area also included interventions to rectify the partitions on the east side, the replacement of the partitions of the shops on the west side and of the concierge at the south entrance with transparent walls and the creation of a technical room on the west side. The first floor has undergone major architectural interventions with the demolition of the current partitions that divided the gallery from the offices and/or perimeter rooms in order to expand the existing space and create a circular and multifunctional system through the creation of glass walls (equipped with interspace blinds) and/or mobile furnishings.
Credits
DESIGN ARCHITECTS Guendalina Salimei – Tstudio
STRUCTURE Mezzadringegneria s.r.l. – Denis Zanetti
MEP ArchLiving – Cristiano Bignozzi
Covered Market of Santo Stefano
Ferrara, Italy
TITLE
Redevelopment of the Ferrara Covered Market and conversion into a polyfunctional center
CLIENT
Public Works and Heritage Sector – Municipality of Ferrara
TYPE OF INTERVENTION
Redevelopment and Reconversion
SURFACE
1.800 mq
STATE
In progress
The Santo Stefano Market in Ferrara is part of the medieval fabric of the Emilian city. Built between 1958 and 1960, the market stands in an area bombed in one of the 297 air raids that occurred between 1943 and 1945, which caused 1,070 victims. The reinforced concrete and steel building is attributed, by the director of the Estensi Civic Museums Gualtiero Medri (1887-1970) and by the art historian Lucio Scardino (1957), to the paternity of the engineer Mario Fabbrini and the architect Giovanni Michelucci (1891-1990). It is the era in which in Italy the debate began on the methods through which to recover history without resulting in the mimicry of the revivals of the late nineteenth century and partly also of the first half of the twentieth century.
The treasure chest of typical products: the ancient Santo Stefano market is reborn in Ferrara.
Giovanni Michelucci is, in an original way, part of this cultural fervor. His study of nature in its forms and in its image, his gaze on history, the adaptation to the morphology of places, are dear design themes and also applied to the case of the Santo Stefano market.
The design strategy has placed emphasis on people and the quality of urban life and through the project aims to build a wide range of opportunities to make the space in which people live and work more pleasant through sustainable design. The architectural project for the redevelopment of the building arises from the need to respect the city's "market" function.
Therefore, conservative interventions were carried out in order to maintain the shops present along the perimeter, without distorting the architectural layout. The central area of the market was redesigned in anticipation of the possible installation of various prefabricated boxes within which it would be possible to perform different functions, from the strictly commercial one of the market to that of catering, or to be able to perform both functions based on needs. The boxes are designed in specific positions with the aim of creating internal paths and are interspersed with flowerbeds placed on the market pavement.
The internal space has also been made accessible to users with reduced mobility. The market area also included interventions to rectify the partitions on the east side, the replacement of the partitions of the shops on the west side and of the concierge at the south entrance with transparent walls and the creation of a technical room on the west side. The first floor has undergone major architectural interventions with the demolition of the current partitions that divided the gallery from the offices and/or perimeter rooms in order to expand the existing space and create a circular and multifunctional system through the creation of glass walls (equipped with interspace blinds) and/or mobile furnishings.
Credits
DESIGN ARCHITECTS Guendalina Salimei – Tstudio
STRUCTURE Mezzadringegneria s.r.l. – Denis Zanetti
MEP ArchLiving – Cristiano Bignozzi