Cornigliano Community Centre – ADC

Cornigliano is a district in the west of Genoa, north Italy. Some may remember the name from reading it on the wrappers of Dufour sweets, which had its production plant here. Until a few decades ago, this small town on the Ligurian Riviera was home to Italsider (now ILVA), one of the largest steelworks in Europe. The oil crisis of the 1970s and the progressive downsizing of the 2000s forced a gradual decline in production, resulting in the abandonment of many buildings and work areas. Consequently, the district – a popular tourist resort for the Ligurian bourgeoisie in the 19th century – gradually began to reclaim those neglected or forgotten spaces that the industrial boom had taken away from the daily lives of its inhabitants.

This introduction is necessary to frame a situation that is somewhat emblematic, but not unique, especially in Italy. Throughout Europe zero-soil-consumption has become one of the most decisive and controversial issues in architectural and urban design. The most far-sighted local administrations and nations, some of which have been committed to a progressive environmental agenda for years, are enacting new laws to protect the land and promote a new building culture.

As I write, a terrible flood has hit the eastern part of the Emilia-Romagna region – one of the richest in northern Italy, known for its numerous industrial plants in the so-called ‘motor valley’ and the family tourism industry, as well as animal breeding, dairy production and the agri-food industry – causing death and destruction amounting to more than five billion euros worth of damage in just two days, and the figures are inevitably set to grow. Much of what happened is attributed to seemingly uncontrollable climate change and to what appears to be an inexorable process of soil sealing, mainly due to the wicked land management policies of previous decades. A counter-response is imperative. The world of design, first and foremost architecture, cannot pretend not to see the impact of reckless and short-sighted interests.

The Cornigliano Community Centre combines building reuse with new build. Inserted into the delicate environment of the former industrial district, it is the result of a collaboration between Genoa-based Dodi Moss and Perugia-based SAB – companies with expertise spanning architecture, engineering, archaeology, restoration and geology.

Hence, the new complex appears as a compact cluster that maintains the forms and proportions of the existing structures, but differs from them in terms of materials and the geometry of the roofs. This approach clearly shows the designers’ intentions with respect to the recurring questions around relationships with history and context: mimesis, preservation or new identity? Dodi Moss and SAB opted for continuity with the past in terms of orientation, the industrial appearance of the façade and the gabled roof, but took a contemporary approach when it came to the choice of building materials – steel and polycarbonate, the irregularly-indented profile of the new roofs, and the folded metal sheet solution façade to the bar.

Viewed from the street, the lightness of the polycarbonate-clad first floor offers a stark contrast to the masonry wall below. This plastered wall echoes the walls of the surrounding houses, reinforcing the sense of rootedness in the neighbourhood, while accentuating the contrast with the lightweight industrial forms of the floor above. The dichotomy between materials and forms, references to context, and the language of ‘post-industrial stacking’ (particularly explicit on the north façade, where the volume of the first floor overhangs the wall of the ground floor), pique the passer-by’s curiosity. People are attracted by the foliage of the trees that pop out above the single-storey wall that, itself, extends beyond the outline of the building, assuming the function of a portal to the public area sheltered from the street. Thus, a system of interconnected spaces makes the exploration of the place engaging, beyond the functions it can accommodate.

While the main façade is closed and compact, the rear opens up unexpectedly, with large north-east facing windows fronting a sports field, creating a strong spatial connection between inside and out. This allows activities in the multi-purpose halls – gymnasium, dance, billiards, recreational and cultural initiatives, reading room, and library – to merge with outdoor activities in an incessant cross-referencing of layers and views.

This combination of views, coupled with the control of natural light, is key to understanding the interior spaces of the Community Centre. By day, the polycarbonate walls provide an effective solution to the problem of thermal insulation (the building has obtained LEED-platinum certification and is  recognised as NZEB, Near Zero Energy Building, through the use of recyclable materials, draining surfaces and energy-saving solutions), and allow light to filter through, bathing the pearl grey linoleum floor and the white finishes and furnishings in a soothing, diaphanous light. Conversely, as evening falls, the building appears semi-transparent with artificial light seeping outwards, like a lantern, drawing citizens’ attention to the community centre’s meeting spaces.