Lissoni & Partners architecture, nature and industry on the lake - Fantini Headquarters in Pella

Lissoni & Partners, led by architect Piero Lissoni, designed Fantini’s new headquarters in a beautiful natural location on the shore of Lake Orta, in the municipality of Pella, province of Novara, Italy. The unique site becomes a key element in the project, in which the top priority is to preserve the ideal balance between architecture and nature, between the presence of industry and the natural setting. The quality of its architecture and perfect integration into its surroundings earned this complex, delicate project the 2018 Best of Year Award from American design magazine Interior Design in the “kitchen and bathroom showroom” category.

The plan for the new Fantini Headquarters is based on a new way of organising the company’s production process: the research and development centre has been moved in-house and the logistics department has been reorganised on the basis of the lean manufacturing method in order to minimise waste. The architects of Lissoni’s studio identified two main goals for the project’s relationship with its natural surroundings: making the most of the waterfront, and integrating the existing industrial buildings into their surroundings to ensure the overall visual harmony of the entire complex.
The existing factory buildings, including the offices, failed to take advantage of their exceptional lakeside setting; Piero Lissoni and his team placed the company’s most strategic functions, the offices and showroom, in this preferential position. The reception area is centrally positioned to ensure optimal management of flows of employees and visitors, who come to the entrance via a long pedestrian pathway parallel to the river, passing by the reception area to the lakeshore and a private wharf.
The offices and showroom enjoy panoramic views over the island of San Giulio, maintaining a constant relationship with the lakeshore through large floor-to-ceiling windows establishing a profound ongoing visual and physical dialogue between inside and outside.
The architects chose to cover all the surfaces with a dark grey “skin” to ensure the overall harmony of the entire development, integrating the existing buildings into the landscape and standardising the architecture of the buildings independently of their date of construction. The covering gives visual continuity to the complex and integrates into the natural landscape even while allowing the buildings to preserve their industrial look. Dark grey on the exterior, the offices and showroom are finished in white and pale colours on the inside to make the most of the natural light from the big windows. A green pergola between the two blocks of the building integrates the natural elements into the project and mediates between nature and architecture.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Images courtesy of Lissoni & Partners, photo by Simone Bossi

Project Name: Fantini Headquarters
Architects: Lissoni & Partners www.lissoniandpartners.com
Design Team: Piero Lissoni with Samuel Lorenzi, Ricardo Hernandez
Model: Isa Diaz
3D Render: Alberto Massi Mauri, Alessandro Massi Mauri, Matteo Sponza
Photos: Simone Bossi

Consultants:

Local Architect: Vittorio Drappo, Camilla Sapio
Landscape: Paghera Green Service
Graphics: Graph.X
Lighting: Flos
Other (Audiovisual, etc): Domoworks
Structural Engineer (company name): Studio Arteco
Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing (MEP) Engineer: Studio Arteco

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