AKA Architetti Wins First Prize in Ce.Te.S Competition

Rome-based studio aka Architetti has won the first prize in the “Ce.Te.S” international competition for an experimental television cultural/didactic center in the former Italcitrus packaging plant in Reggio Calabria, Italy. The competition was organized by the Reggio Calabria local authority. Second and third prize were won by ATT Architetti (Reggio Calabria) and Alter Studio (Milan).

This is how the architects describe their project “Digital Origami”:

CONCEPT
The intervention represents a distinct urban and landscape sign. Not only the broadcasting antenna and the new building but also the entire complex as well as the surrounding terrain were sculptured and were intended to be a piece of land art.

During the night the centre is engulfed by an illuminated net that emerges from the terrain spreading and arriving to the top of the broadcasting antenna/sculpture, visible from a far. The centre it self becomes an instrument of communication, an interactive device and not only a passive container. The Net that enwraps the centre has another function as a bio climate skin. It has bi phase ecologic system; passive, hot/cold protection, and active, with the insertion on photovoltaic panels.

PROGRAM
The program required the reuse of an abandoned industrial complex in the northern outskirts of Reggio Calabria (near the seashore, a short distance from the future strait of Messina bridge) planning a polyfunctional centre for an experimental television as well as an audio visual facility, with laboratories, studio classes and other structures for the related production (short films, documentary, commercial spot, etc). Areas for exhibitions and temporary installation such as film festivals were requested as well. 

On a triangular area of 14.000 sq m are 6 buildings of the former packaging plant, the program gave a full liberty on the conservation or the demolition of these buildings.

AKA’s proposal was to maintain and restore 4 of the existing buildings while demolishing the remaining 2 and substituting them with the construction of a new semicircular building with a piazza/arena on its core.

The distribution plan for the new complex is divided in 2 levels, on the ground level are located the more operative spaces, scenographic and tailoring workshops, laboratories, studios, administration offices and in the corresponding new building area an exhibition gallery. On the level above are the public designated areas such as the cafeteria, bookshop, offices and teaching classes. On the same level a suspended visiting path is programmed in order to allow the visitors to view the various activities without interfering.

On the non built areas is planned an equipped public park that participate in the centre activities, the terrain is sculptured in a fractured way that allows to collocate the parking areas and the technical rooms underneath it.

The competition was announced on April 2008 with the submission deadline on September 2008, the jury decision was publicly announced on March 2009. The project contract is foreseen to be held near the end of 2009 as for the construction time line it stands on 18 months.

Additional Information:
Development cost: 6,650,000 € ($9M)
Area: 10,200 sq m (11,000 sf)
AKA ( AKA - Caccavale, Casadei, Pineschi Associated Architects)
Design team: Federica Caccavale, Alessandro Casadei, Paolo Pineschi, Nadav Engel
Year: 2008
Announced as winner: March 2009

Images: AKA