Castenedolo Shopping Center
Castenedolo, Brescia Italy
Accommodation outside parking area. Lining the mall entrances and existing building line in front of the mall
Info
2010: Project
Project: IDxEA
Client: Trevisan Costruzioni Spa Vicenza Italia
Text
The Castenedolo Shopping Center is located next to one of the major road junctions in the city of Brescia, along the main artery that crosses the Po Valley. The proposed project focused, therefore, on the idea of exploiting the building’s remarkable visibility. There was, however, a pre-existing building – a precast cement structure – to take into account. At the same time, the client wanted to shield the area in front of the main facade with an awning that would cover the exits from the parking area and the entrances to the shopping center. The restyling also involved two more small sheds located along the front of the shopping center.
In light of its particular location, the design emphasized macro elements that would allow the building to be seen and its functions understood from afar as well as close to. Colour, therefore, becomes a key element and serves almost as a signpost on days of heavy fog in the valley, while at night lights give it new life. The metal roof is designed to recall blades of grass entwined by the breeze and rises dramatically against the horizon like a work of land art.
The infinite interplay of shapes and the randomness of their intersections are in striking contrast to the mute rigidity of the concrete shell. This luxuriant mesh is extended to other architectural features, both large and small: the continuous facade, the awning, and the street furniture. Thus these elements are blended in a single gesture and a unique design style, to become, taken as a whole, a new landmark for the surrounding area.
In light of its particular location, the design emphasized macro elements that would allow the building to be seen and its functions understood from afar as well as close to. Colour, therefore, becomes a key element and serves almost as a signpost on days of heavy fog in the valley, while at night lights give it new life. The metal roof is designed to recall blades of grass entwined by the breeze and rises dramatically against the horizon like a work of land art.
The infinite interplay of shapes and the randomness of their intersections are in striking contrast to the mute rigidity of the concrete shell. This luxuriant mesh is extended to other architectural features, both large and small: the continuous facade, the awning, and the street furniture. Thus these elements are blended in a single gesture and a unique design style, to become, taken as a whole, a new landmark for the surrounding area.