Originally built between 1916 and 1921 from a design by Giacomo Matte Trucco, Lingotto, the famous original Fiat factory in Turin, is the largest industrial archeological site in Europe. It was turned into a multi-purpose centre in 1987 and, since September 2002, it has become a new prestigious venue, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, for temporary shows and the exhibition of the Agnelli's private collection.
It hosts some works of art, 23 canvases and two plaster casts by Antonio Canova, that Agnelli and his wife have been collecting over the years guided by their artistic taste.
The new building, located above the Lingotto factory, is both unusual and stunning and has frequently been compared by the press with a 'spaceship'.
This building, also known as 'Lo Scrigno' (the jewel box) is composed of a parallelepiped covered by aluminium panels and supported by four pillars, with no openings.
Natural light comes through the ceiling which is composed of moving aluminium flaps surmounted by moving flaps of sandblasted glass.
Aluminium and glass are the two main materials of the building that Agnelli defined as a Scrigno during their first meeting, as Piano himself says: "He did not want the structure to stifle the works of art; a work of art needs its own space to give joy and pleasure. It conveys an emotion."
The interior lighting inside the five floors of the North Tower was designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop together with Piero Castiglioni while a versatile lighting system from iGuzzini was chosen for the areas where temporary exhibitions are held, thus meeting any display needs.
The guiding principle of the lighting design was to minimise the visual impact of fittings within a very simple architectural context, thus maximising the visitors' visual comfort.
The general light comes from recessed iGuzzini Le Perroquet fittings, installed in the false ceiling grooves and hardly noticed by the visitors. In order to increase the visual comfort, cylindrical screens with a black painted inner surface were installed on the spotlights to minimise glare.
Special adjustable Le Perroquet fittings, designed for this project, provide accent lighting. Stiff rods were designed and developed to install the spotlights on the tracks recessed into the false ceiling grooves.
One of the main project features is the staircase linking the various floors up to the Scrigno and visible from all levels; it is made of aluminium and supported by stay wires. It is lit up by Le Perroquet spotlights.
In designing the exterior lighting for the Scrigno, a 'floating' effect of the building on the Lingotto was created thanks to the use of daylight at night.
This result was achieved by accurately positioning and pointing the Lingotto projectors, thus creating a contrast of light and shadow. In some cases special rods were needed.
The metal walls of the Scrigno are lit up by iGuzzini Lingotto projectors mounted on posts and placed along the track. The main building feature, i.e. the structure made of sandblasted glass which covers the building, is lit up by Lingotto projectors installed along the building walls by means of customised rods.
The lower part of the Scrigno is illuminated both during the day and at night. During the day the artificial light softens the shadows created by the sun and its changing position in the sky. At night the Scrigno seems to be floating, supported by a carpet of light, as a result of the lighting of its lower part.
iGuzzini gave advice during the pointing activities and also contributed to the finalisation of the interior lighting design for the Scrigno, for which Renzo Piano was supported by architect Piero Castiglioni.
The general lighting of the exhibition area relies on the natural light coming from the ceiling, filtered by a false ceiling made of fabric panels and integrated with a dimmerable fluorescent system, thus guaranteeing a suitable lighting level at any time, regardless of the weather conditions.
Accent lighting is obtained by means of special Le Perroquet spotlights with stiff rods, inserted in the gaps between the fabric panels. Black-painted spring-clip screens were installed on the spotlights to prevent glare.
Accurately pointed and tested dichroic lamps with different light beams guarantee homogenous lighting up of the exhibition walls.
Le Perroquet spotlights were also installed on the long sides of the parallelepiped, even if not used for exhibition purposes, to prevent the 'tunnel' effect created by the building length.
Websites:
Renzo Piano Building Workshop
iGuzzini