CITTANOVA2000

The main problem of the area Cittanova 2000 is the lack of an Urban Form capable of making this place ‘liveable’ where the city has lost its meaning and its rules.
An analysis of the roads in the area revealed a marked ‘geometry’ in the network, a reminder of what, in the tradition of cities founded in Roman times, were once the Cardo and Decumano.
The decision to propose a general form for the project which recalls images of fortified towns must be read as an attempt in architectural terms to solve the problem of the absolutely enormous number of parking spaces required by the urban planning standards for the area and to reshape and delimit a ‘Place’ rather than align buildings.
The system of ramparts  encloses two levels of covered parking spaces, reducing the  number of parking spaces at ground level and creating a system of raised green spaces as a dividing line between the internal garden and the context.
It is thanks to the Ramparts that the demand for public spaces – highlighted in no uncertain terms in the competition announcement -, can be satisfied by our project.
These ramparts are also the location for the buildings designed to house productive activities. The architecture of these buildings is designed as a function of the two aspects which they enjoy: on the street side, the facade is marked by great horizontal open cuts in the brick wall, strengthening and repeating the ‘Fortress-like’ character we wished to give the settlement; towards the inside, the walls are reduced to a frame enclosing a great glazed area, allowing the outdoor space of the garden it overlooks to burst into the building.
The top of the ramparts is to all intents and purposes an easily accessible public space upon which to walk without any interference from road traffic and along which there is access to all of the buildings for offices as well as public amenities such as bars, self-service restaurants, bank services, playschools, etc. This level also provides uninterrupted access to the garden – imagined as a sort of artificial ‘valley’ – or to the main square.

COMPETITION: 2000
         
Architect
Mario Bellini Architects

Design Team
Mario Bellini. With Giovanni Cappelletti

Project Team
Giovanni Cappelletti (project architect). With Federico Spadini, Alessandro Zufferli (3D model and render image), Maurizio Di Lauro (Model)

Consultants
Urban Planning:
Studio di Architettura Tiziano Lugli, Modena
Social and urban study: 
Università degli studi di Reggio Emilia
Facoltà di Ingegneria di Modena
Mechanical services consultants:    
I.S. Ingegneria & Servizi s.r.l., Ingegneri Riuniti s.r.l., Politecnica Engineering
SATA. Applicazioni Tecnologiche Avanzate s.r.l, Modena
Photo:
Mario Bellini Architects     
Model:    
Luigi Modellato, Milano