Studio Fabbricanove

Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium

Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano

BANCA CREDITO COOPERATIVO "G. TONIOLO" AUDITORIUM

FABBRICANOVE Architetti

ARCHITECTS
FABBRICANOVE Architetti

LOCATION
93017 San Cataldo CL, Italy

CATEGORY
Auditorium

ARCHITECTS IN CHARGE
Giovanni Bartolozzi, Enzo Fontana

STRUCTURAL  ENGINEERING
Antonello Sajeva, Simona Sajeva

AREA
1300.0 m2

PROJECT YEAR
2016

PHOTOGRAPHS
Filippo Romano

MANUAFCTURERS
Trespa, Plexiglas, Pream

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Antonello Sajeva, Simona Sajeva

INSTALLATION SYSTEMS
Antonio Tumminelli

COLLABORATORS
Daniele Capolicchio, Francesco Capriotti, Renata Laudati, Domenico Calabrese

CLIENT
BCC Banca di Credito Cooperativo "G. Toniolo" of San Cataldo

CONTRACTORS
SICEF, San Cataldo (Caltanissetta, Italy), Gruppo Lacagnina, San Cataldo (Caltanissetta, Italy)

Text description provided by architect.

The new Auditorium of the Banca di Credito Cooperativo (BCC) "G. Toniolo" of San Cataldo, near Caltanissetta in the Sicilian hinterland, is the evidence of a possible coexistence between urban memory and contemporary architecture.

Designed by FABBRICANOVE Architetti, architectural office founded in Florence in 2009 by Enzo Fontana, Giovanni Bartolozzi, and Lorenzo Matteoli, the new Auditorium born from the client's desire to create a public space for cultural events open to the public and for hosting business private meetings.

Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano

Then, a space for the residents to meet and share new cultural opportunities, and for the bank activities.

The location of the project is an important issue for the design approach: San Cataldo, a small town in the middle of Sicily, is composed of traditional houses.

Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano

The auditorium is a new urban and contemporary design 'object' that comes as an alternative to the consolidated historical centre.

The project is situated along the main central street, where there was a cluster of houses with a single front facade, characterized by elements of classical architecture: the restriction of the Superintendence imposed the reconstruction of the original facade that in the project becomes a scenic backdrop.

Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano

A new volume, designed like a dark and compact monolith, stands behind the restored facade, but it is not hidden. The entire auditorium is designed as a massive embedded diamond that is revealed on the side face, the rear face, and upward: the past and the present come together and invite for a new reading of the urban context and its architecture.

The auditorium has an area of 1.300 square meters, divided into four levels and a basement for the archives of the bank and technical rooms. On the first level there is the foyer that opens on the main street through five portals; the second level includes the auditorium hall with about 280 seats; the third level is dedicated to a gallery for 130 seats; at the last level there is a meeting room and a terrace between the facade and the monolith.

Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano

FABBRICANOVE chose a grey anthracite cladding for the skin of the new volume in order to make it visible and to create a dialogue with the white plaster of the reconstructed facade.

Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano

The coating of the external volume has been realized with vertical cut panels, to obtain a precious texture, which works as a ventilated facade. The project arises into the context as a decisive and clear overlay. The structural system is a significant element of the project.

Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
© Filippo Romano

The structure is concentrated in the perimeter of the monolith, and this allows to have an open space with spans of up to 20 linear meters. This solution creates a void, a gap between the reconstructed facade and the monolith, where all the distribution system is located: stairs, elevators and entrances.


Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
Ground Floor Plan
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
Ground Floor Plan
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
Gallery Plan
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
3rd Floor Plan


Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
Elevation
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
Elevation
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
Section
Banca Credito Cooperativo “G. Toniolo” Auditorium
Detail

Studio Fabbricanove
T +39 055 9863776
Studio Fabbricanove
Via del Campofiore, 22, 50136 Firenze FI, Italy