Heritage & Urban Regeneration

Area Ex Macello

Location

Novara, Italy

Year

2020 — ongoing (site under way; delivery scheduled November 2027)

Client

PPP - Municipality of Novara + REAM SGR S.p.A. (Valorizzazione e Innovazione Piemonte real estate fund)

Typology

Regeneration · New build · Infrastructure works

Status

Ongoing · Construction supervision (site under way)

On the southern edge of Novara's historic centre, the site of the former municipal abattoir has been waiting years for a new reason to exist. The project transforms it into a new-generation retail park: a medium-sized food and mixed-use scheme, with a sales area of 2,500 square metres, alongside non-food outlets, neighbourhood shops, food and drink, tertiary functions and personal services. But the heart of the project is not the sum of its functions: it is public space. The buildings develop along the street frontage in harmony with the urban context, while the arcaded fronts face onto an internal square designed for the city - equipped pedestrian routes, green areas, differentiated functions conceived for every age group. Base engineering accompanies the operation from strategy to delivery, across a site of 10,300 square metres.

Project Render

The Project

Overview

The project concerns the urban requalification of the former Civic Slaughterhouse of Novara, in the southern quadrant of the city, close to the historic centre: a large operation to regenerate a disused and inaccessible area, which returns an entire urban block to the community by transforming it into a multifunctional hub with public spaces, services, green areas and commercial activities - regulating its traffic with the opening of a new axis that will connect Piazza Pasteur to Viale Curtatone, on the continuation of Via Legnano. The area was cleared of the existing dilapidated buildings, with the exception of the two small buildings on the square and the central building with the tower: not buildings protected by the Soprintendenza, but a preference of the Municipality that we respected. The project provides for the construction of an urban retail park articulated around three main themes: an urban square with an aggregative vocation, with restaurant premises; medium-scale retail spaces, including the office component; a hypermarket - all crossed by continuous pedestrian paths, both covered and open, with green areas, resting spaces and an underground public car park. The intervention is the result of the public-private partnership between the Municipality of Novara and REAM SGR S.p.A., through the Valorizzazione e Innovazione Piemonte real-estate fund, which also includes the restoration and recovery of Casa Bossi.

The Challenge

The challenge was to take on an entirely abandoned area, starting from research on the possible and useful functions for the city, studying the planning of the area and identifying the most suitable functions, in agreement with the Municipality and with the needs of the city. The intervention also provides for the enhancement of the pre-existing nineteenth-century buildings, setting them alongside entirely new buildings: the objective is a harmonious whole, despite the use of completely different technologies and materials.

Pre-Development & Governance

We entered the preliminary design phase mid-course, joining the firm ASSET srl of Rome, which had already begun to engage with the Municipality. Given the extent of the area, its multi-year disuse and its previous use as a slaughterhouse, the theme of environmental remediation was central: numerous surveys and geological and environmental studies on site clarified the nature of the existing terrain, also in view of the volume of earth to be moved for the excavation of the car park. Once the checks were complete, it was possible to proceed with the design proper, up to today: the worksite is underway, with the forecast of returning the area to citizens in November 2027. The intervention included the design of the infrastructure works transferred to the Municipality, with the drafting and signing of an agreement between ownership and administration for the management of the transferred parts.

Systems & Technical Coordination

To govern the various aspects of an urban-regeneration intervention, we launched extensive collaboration with ASSET, including in the choice of professionals for structures and systems with specific experience, without neglecting the themes of acoustics, energy saving and fire prevention. The project drew on a series of 3D simulations to verify the impact of the intervention on the surrounding urban grid; in-depth geological and archaeological investigations were carried out, in addition to research on any wartime remnants, given the proximity to the Barracks.

Process Management

The process is still ongoing and involves numerous professionals, including Eng. Dario Luetto for structures and systems and Planeta srl for the environmental component. Coordination of the various parties takes place through weekly meetings scheduled also with the Municipality, in order to find the most appropriate solutions together. The final deliverables of each design phase and each discipline are coordinated and checked before every official submission. During the construction phase: control of works and materials and coordination between designers, contractors and subcontractors.

Value Added

Per il committente: il coronamento di un’operazione immobiliare nata nel 2020, che oggi vede finalmente i primi passi della realizzazione dell’intero complesso. Per il territorio: la possibilità di recuperare un’area urbana e fruirne liberamente, con servizi e aree verdi a disposizione. Per gli utenti finali: edifici studiati esplicitamente sulle esigenze di ciascuno. Per noi: la possibilità di trattare temi diversi, dalla pianificazione al progetto dei singoli edifici, occupandoci di questioni ambientali delicate e riuscendo in un’operazione di ricucitura di uno spazio inutilizzato da anni.