The Sidera building extends horizontally for a length of 100 metres and has a height of 33 metres, starting from a soil plinth that is approximately 3 metres high. The external surface features only three materials: aluminium, black pigmented concrete and glass.
The natural aluminium used for the cladding sheets plays the leading role as it elegantly reflects the natural light, taking on different nuances of tone and colour at different times of the day and depending on the weather conditions. This, combined with the rapid rhythm created by the placement of the sunshade fins, creates a pleasant optical illusion as one moves around the Sidera building, whereby the building appears as either an opaque or transparent block, depending on the position from which it is viewed.
The concept of the envelope of the building does not refer only to the exterior façades, but also includes the roof, which was immediately interpreted as a kind of fifth elevation. The vernacular motif of the pitched roof was selected for this purpose, which, in itself, is unprecedented in such an industrial context. Six sloping pitches are scattered across the space exploiting the three large skylights as connection points, in the quest to create a dialogue with the skyline of the nearby Apennines.
The precepts of neuro-architecture have guided most of the design choices, which focused on finding the ideal working space. Thus, external factors, such as light, air, sounds and visuals, enter the building in the form of calibrated and controlled architectural components and not merely as necessary occurrences.
No colour has been added beyond the natural pigmentation of the materials. Wood, aluminium and concrete proudly express their natural state. The sobriety of the building in this sense reflects the seriousness and pragmatism of the company.
Between shard-like shapes and diagonal slashes, the large internal staircases act as an element of disruption for the entire layout, starting from the fact that is it the only space from which the full internal height of the Sidera building can be enjoyed in all its glory. The hypertrophic and sinuous lines play with contrast, drawing the visitor towards itself like a disruptive centripetal force. The ribbon created by the parapet of the staircase worms and winds its way upward, like a living organism whose branches are attracted by the sunlight that penetrates through the large skylight.
The Sidera building is a living, creative organism that denies the rigid logic of orthogonality and avoids all static constraints or obligations.
In a context that is devoid of identity and architectural value, the Sidera building has been conceived to be a new element to add to its surroundings, like a sort of gift, a form of reparation to an area lacking in quality but one which can evidently become a better area, for the benefit of anyone who comes to make use of it.