In the north-western quadrant of Orbassano, on the edge of the Sangone River Park, Base Engineering has been designing and accompanying the birth of a residential neighbourhood for the Cooperativa Edilizia "Giuseppe Di Vittorio" for almost thirty years. Begun in 1997, the Arpini Neighbourhood is the most extensive case in our portfolio in terms of both duration and scale: a settlement designed for around 1,700 inhabitants, organised in blocks that step down towards the countryside and are oriented to make the most of natural light and ventilation. It is not a single building, but a piece of city built in phases. Over this span of time the project encountered the 2008 crisis, gave up a cogeneration plant, and changed instruments - moving towards the Piedmont regional call for proposals and Protocollo Itaca certification, with advice from iiSBE Italia. Each time, Base's direction held together a cooperative client, economic constraints and the ambition of housing quality. Arpini tells what it means to govern a work that lasts longer than any single economic cycle: designing today in the knowledge that delivery will come tomorrow.
Project Site Plan
The Project
Overview
The project concerns the urban planning of a residential-use area in the north-west quadrant of Orbassano (Turin), with the design of the infrastructure works and of part of the buildings. The 156,000 sqm agricultural area had been converted by the general zoning plan into building land, with an urban-planning equalization that assigned 50% to private residences and 50% to public residential housing. Among the numerous clients: the Di Vittorio Cooperative, the San Pancrazio Cooperative, the Rossi firm, the Consorzio Cooperative Edilizie Unione. In the central part of the area, the ground floors of the buildings are intended for services and retail. The objective was twofold: to draw up an agreed executive plan of free initiative (PECLI) for residential use and, together, to transform the area into an energy-sustainable district - precisely in the years when the subject was beginning to be discussed and legislated - up to the idea of a cogeneration plant capable of making the entire area energy self-sufficient.
The Challenge
Urban planning entails the complexity of addressing different themes by bringing different actors into dialogue - operators and the Municipality - towards a common objective. The greatest challenge was to use new design strategies to conceive a masterplan respectful of the environment and oriented towards the indoor comfort of residents, with results of high quality not only formally but also technologically, up to establishing guidelines of bioclimatic criteria with the collaboration and support of iiSBE Italia. On the environmental front, the geological surveys and the excavation phases revealed layers of waste accumulated over time, which required the remediation of the land.
Pre-Development & Governance
The preliminary phase translated into an in-depth study of the area's development possibilities, taking shape in a masterplan built with respect and caution towards the surrounding environment, given the proximity to the Sangone River Park: a series of blocks with the taller buildings (3-4 storeys at most) towards the central square and lower buildings towards the countryside, in order to mitigate the intense development relative to the rural territory.
Systems & Technical Coordination
For an intervention with a projected settlement of about 1,700 inhabitants, we identified the most suitable professionals from the outset, above all on the energy and environmental front. From the earliest phases we developed a series of 3D simulations to study volumes and architecture and to verify the impact of the intervention on the surrounding environment. In parallel, with the A.R.E.A. project (Arpini Renewable Energy and Architecture) we opened a dialogue with the Municipality to extend the energy-sustainability policy also to the nearby multi-storey buildings of the 1960s-70s, with a cogeneration plant serving the entire area. These phases took place with the support of iiSBE Italia (international initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment), a non-profit international organization for the transition towards a sustainable built environment, involved both in the planning and in the design and construction of the individual buildings.
Process Management
We took full charge of the PECLI, including the infrastructure works, drawing on geologists for the preliminary surveys and systems engineers for the public networks. On the buildings we handled the architectural component, with engineers for structures, systems and acoustics chosen by us or provided by the operators. Coordination took place through frequent meetings - often several times a week - scheduled also with the clients; the deliverables of each discipline were coordinated and checked before every official submission. The 2008 crisis had consequences on the delivery of the programme, which underwent a downsizing: the cogeneration plant had to be abandoned. The attention to energy sustainability nonetheless allowed the buildings to fall within the regional call "10,000 dwellings by 2012" and within the Itaca Protocol, obtaining an advanced energy class.
Value Added
For the clients: an innovative real-estate operation in terms of energy and social sustainability. The district hosts a social-housing initiative of the Di Vittorio Cooperative - "Sharing spaces, including differences" - with rent-controlled apartments, some of which we designed specifically for people with severe motor disabilities: ample spaces, ramps, advanced home automation, facilitated access and territorial support services managed by the third sector. The objective: a highly inclusive residential hub without architectural barriers, where even tetraplegic people can lead an autonomous life, integrated with the other families.
