Location: Parma, Italy

Year: 2009

The new Headquarters for the Provincia of Parma will be perceived as an integrated element in the landscape, as a container of technological innovation, but also as a building that communicates its internal values to the public. The building concept is tied to the creation of renewable resources that are fragmented and produce a relationship between the exterior and interior of the building. This ‘extension’ of the envelope produces an in-between space that also corresponds to the expansion of spaces between the individual and the collective or public use. The fragmentation of resources and energy is represented in the south facade as a brightly coloured brise-soleil . In this project we tried to find solutions that are compatible to and do not conflict with the built environment; that ensure a healthy place but also preserve the ecosystem.

We chose to avoid the use of interior materials and finishes that contain indoor pollutants (solvents, formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen, ozone, benzene and particulates, and to focus on hard surfaces rather than porous absorbent ones (without neglecting the acoustic problems arising with the use of such areas). The various systems of natural ventilation and filtration reduce the spread of biological agents such as mould, bacteria, fungi, pollen, etc.. The analysis of the context, both climatic and environmental, has suggested that we design a building with strong visual permeability that will be integrated with the site, be respectful of the existing landscape and built environment and be able to merge the “external” and “internal” activities.