Archinect
Anna Corbetta

Anna Corbetta

New York City

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A new cultural center for Pisogne

The idea for this project began with a careful study of the urban fabric of the city of Pisogne. Pisogne has a very dense urban grain consisting of small dwellings which surround a historic centre.

There are two urban regulatory axes: one which connects the lake to Bishop’s Square Corna- Pellegrini, and another which is parallel to Viale Europa. These are the guidelines by which the project was conceived: the project is in fact composed of two interlocking forms which are oriented according to the previously mentioned axes. The project seeks a direct comparison with the context, especially with the church of S. Assumption, located near the area of intervention.

The design of this project began with the plinth, the point at which the new theatre will touch the city of Pisogne. The rectilinear form of the auditorium sitting in parallel to it. The intent is to create a continuity between old and new as it is from the ground level of the church that one enters the theatre. Another parallel drawn from the existing church is the rhythm of solid and void, this volumetric rhythm is carried through in the design of the theatre. Four cubic volumes are extracted from the building form in a line, creating a fragmented elevation. In plan, the fragmentation of the square is bookended by the identifiable auditorium form.

Parallel to the architectural composition of this theatre, a study was conducted for the construction methods and materiality of the classroom spaces that lye within the entry plinth. These classroom elements are tectonically detached from the stone plinth, and are therefore perceived as light bodies resting on the hard surface of the project.

The intent of this architectural move was to differentiate the classrooms from the structural framework of the rest of the project, to establish a materiality break within the whole. The cladding material for the rest of the theatre is a Mevaco aluminium sheeting. The size of these façade and roof panels are designed so that a different pattern may be printed for a different form. The first step was to study the light striking the elevation and let that define the position of the opening. The next step was to modulate the size of the same square openings and ensure that the cladding panels were to the same dimensions.

 
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Status: School Project
Location: Lecco, IT