Livegreenblog at Vita Nova, Restoration Days, Genoa

Floornature and Livegreenblog are supporting the application of “Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century” for UNESCO heritage-listing. As media partner we were also invited to the final day of the event called “VITA NOVA – gli Edifici industriali e il riutilizzo a fini culturali” (NEW LIFE - Industrial buildings and repurposing them for cultural use) in Genoa.



It was really exciting to see the images of Ivrea and its extensive 20th century Italian architectural assets, currently being valued for UNESCO heritage-listing, all the more special because they were being showcased in the delightful backdrop of the Sala del Bergamasco room in Palazzo Tobia Pallavicino, one of the Palazzi dei Rolli a group of palazzos in Via Garibaldi that have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006.





Like the site in Genoa, the Ivrea application is based on an urban system, in other words it's not just the significant architecture commissioned by Adriano Olivetti to construct his business vision, it is actually based on the concept of the city as an organic fabric mirroring the interpersonal and social relations of its residents.



At the end of the morning of the 6th edition of the CNA Restoration Days - focusing on the repurposing of industrial buildings for cultural use and introduced by the project for the Gavoglio barracks in Genoa discussed by architects Roberto Burlando and Luca Mazzari , as the core part of a major project called Genova Green Smart City Park - Stella Sanguinetti again showed the video created by photographer Gianluca Giordano for the restoration days from 25 to 27 February in Santo Stefano Magra.



The walk along Via Jervis in Ivrea, where most of the buildings to protect are located according to the application brief, provided the backdrop for the talk by Livegreenblog where we again stressed the importance of image in communication, at a time in history where photography rules. Which is precisely why the project behind the visual surface becomes as fundamental as the choice of words, a concept underscored by architect Luca Mazzari.





It is also important not to restrict the possible end uses to cultural activities alone, particularly when it comes to repurposing industrial architecture. In a country like Italy, which can trace its historical architectural heritage for thousands of years, this theme must be explored further, because not only do we risk forgetting the 20th century, we also risk losing the active and usable participation of the communities involved.

Christiane Bürklein

“VITA NOVA - gli Edifici Industriali e il riutilizzo a fini culturali”
(Workshop for Urban Quality in Pisa) from 25 to 27 February 2016
former Ceramiche Vaccari, Santo Stefano di Magra (SP)
sponsored by MiBACT
Final day on 18 March 2016, Palazzo Pallavicino, Genoa
Images: © Gianluca Giordano 
Video: https://youtu.be/sipBNvR7nDc