Refurbishment of Zigherane tobacco processing factory, Rovereto, Italy

Competition 2011. 1st prize

The old Zigherane factory of Rovereto is an Austro-Hungarian industrial construction from mid-19th century, well preserved and almost resembling a palace, with a “U” shape story.

Internally, the building presents naves with central cast-iron supports, except for the ground story and the basement, which are domed. Two of the staircases are located in some small outward bays that face the patio, and a third semicircular one, located at the short wing.

The exterior calls for the maintenance of the building’s characteristics elements, such as the woodwork, the canopy roof which will be changed for crystal, or the roofs which will have new skylights that will match the industrial feel of the building. The ground floor will be home to stores, a library and a restaurant, and the higher stories will be the commercial hub. The commercial hub will occupy the old factory naves, which requires a careful design to avoid distorting the transparent character of the original spaces with an uncontrolled compartmentalization.

The lateral wings of the factory’s “U” are organized into three bays, two lateral and a central one among cast-iron pillars. The height of the naves is generous and the windows reference that height with their verticality. The central bay is reserved to the “open space” positions, and the lateral ones to the closed offices needed. The latter are minimal working cells, with and adjusted height, that coincide with the windows’ partition, allowing their illumination and ventilation through their lower portion, whilst the upper portion lets in the light from the central bay. The open space area is delimited by lower enclosures or furniture that simultaneously unifies and divides the space. It avoids and hides the visual disorder that could disrupt the repetitive order of the rhythm of the pillars. The conference rooms are located at the middle ends of the naves, avoiding the fragmentation of the space. In turn, the leisure and relaxation areas are located inside the transparent space, in the illuminated ends of the bays.

The covered ground story has a particular character, lower than the rest and with an exposed wooden structure in which there are skylights that illuminate the central bay.

Authors: Linazasoro&Sánchez Arquitectura, Via Ingegneria
Collaborators: Andoni Garrán, Alba Troitiño Bernal, Simone Spampinato, Hugo Sebastián de Erice, Sergio Artola, Elías Martín