Heritage & Urban Regeneration
ICONA Ex-Olivetti — Fabbrica Mattoni Rossi
ICONA began in 2017 as a feasibility project for the reuse of the Red Brick Factory in Ivrea, one of the founding buildings of the Olivetti complex, designed by the architects Figini and Pollini. Base Engineering is not merely the designer: it is the promoter and the director of the initiative. From an acronym developed during an international workshop held inside the building, the studio has built an urban regeneration hypothesis that weaves industrial memory together with new models of social economy. The building is part of the UNESCO site Ivrea, Industrial City of the 20th Century (inscribed in 2018), but it is not treated as a relic to be preserved: it is a device to be reactivated. A place where entrepreneurs, artists and digital craftspeople can work, experiment and produce. A factory of opportunities, in continuity with the thinking of Adriano Olivetti, reread in the light of the present. The project is currently in development: the UNESCO designation defines the rules of engagement, the functional programming defines the direction.
Overview
ICONA was conceived as an ambitious intervention of refunctionalization and urban regeneration of the first extension of the historic "Red Brick" factory (Mattoni Rossi) in Ivrea and of the areas designed by the architects Figini and Pollini, within the industrial heritage that made the city an international symbol of Adriano Olivetti's business culture. Promoted by ICONA S.r.l. - an initiative that we originally developed in collaboration with the association Il Quinto Ampliamento - the project transforms an iconic site of Italian industrial history into a new hub dedicated to innovation, culture and entrepreneurship. The aim is to reinterpret Olivettian thought in a contemporary key, giving life to a true "factory of opportunities": a space open to entrepreneurs, professionals, artists, digitally enabled artisans and innovative organizations, capable of generating shared value through a new model of social economy that places the person, sustainability and the relationship between enterprise and territory at its centre.
The Challenge
The main challenge was to give new life to one of the most representative sites of Italian industrial history, preserving its architectural and symbolic value while transforming it, at the same time, into an engine of development for the future. The intervention required a delicate balance between conservation and innovation: keeping the identifying elements of the "Red Brick" factory and of the historic buildings recognizable, while adapting them to the demands of new productive and cultural models. In parallel, the project confronted a broader challenge: to propose a business model capable of responding to contemporary economic and social change, recovering the Olivettian vision in a present-day perspective - through an articulated effort of coordination between public and private actors, protection authorities, professionals and stakeholders.
Pre-Development & Governance
The pre-development phase began in 2017 with the feasibility study we drew up to define the strategies for the refunctionalization of the entire complex. From the earliest phases the project was accompanied by a process of participatory governance, born also thanks to an international workshop hosted within the structure: an opportunity for dialogue between professionals, institutions and local organizations to outline the future end uses. The governance of the initiative is closely linked to the association Il Quinto Ampliamento, established to update Adriano Olivetti's entrepreneurial model and to promote a business culture founded on social responsibility. Alongside the design aspects, we developed studies dedicated to the project's identity, from brand construction to the definition of the graphic system.
Systems & Technical Coordination
The development process took shape in January 2017 with the initiative we promoted for the recovery of the historic Olivetti works in Ivrea; from this vision the concept of the "factory of opportunities" was born. We then developed the feasibility study and the preliminary design, accompanied by international workshops dedicated to defining the new functions of the complex. The evolution of the project proceeds in constant dialogue with the competent authorities: the authorization process is shared with the Soprintendenza, while certain specialist activities - such as the recovery of the Salone dei 2000 - are developed in collaboration with the Conservation and Restoration Centre of Venaria Reale. A fundamental step was obtaining ministerial authorization for the sale of the properties subject to historic-artistic protection, which made it possible to proceed with the real-estate operation in full compliance with the constraints. The long-term vision provides for the progressive completion of the functional lots: tertiary activities, spaces for education, residential functions and new services dedicated to innovation and the community.
Process Management
The success of the initiative springs from the close collaboration between us and the association Il Quinto Ampliamento: two organizations with complementary skills, which respectively defined the technical component and the cultural vision of the project. We played the role of promoter and technical coordinator of the entire operation - feasibility study, preliminary design, authorization process, dialogue with the Municipality of Ivrea and the Soprintendenza - also taking care of the organizational and managerial aspects needed to turn an idea into a concretely achievable intervention. Il Quinto Ampliamento represented the cultural and strategic reference point, accompanying the construction of an ecosystem capable of connecting enterprises, institutions, territory and community with research, promotion and international dialogue.
Value Added
ICONA demonstrates how urban regeneration can become an opportunity for economic, social and cultural development. For the client, it means restoring value to a real-estate asset of extraordinary importance, making it ready to welcome new models of enterprise and innovation. For the territory, the project creates a hub capable of attracting skills, investment and cultural initiatives, strengthening Ivrea's role as an international laboratory of innovation and sustainable development. For the end users, flexible and technologically advanced spaces, designed for the birth of new enterprises, creative activities and educational programmes. For us, highly specialized expertise in the regeneration of complex industrial heritage, in the management of intricate authorization processes and in the coordination of projects that integrate technical, strategic and institutional skills.
