The new offices of Balluff Automation Italia are located in the industrial area of Venaria Reale, inside a multi- storey industrial building, with the characteristic ribbon windows along the entire perimeter: the industrial vocation of the building was maintained during the renovation process, becoming a predominant element and distinctive feature of the entire project.
Client: Balluff Automation Italia
Location: Venaria Reale (TO), Italy
Industry: Manufacturing
Year of completion: 2019
Budget: about 600.000 €
Number of workspaces: 52
Size: 1500 sqm
Credits:
Design Team: Franco Rosi + Stefania Micotti Architetti, via Gran San Bernardo, 6 -20154 Milan, Italy – frarch.net – www.stefaniamicotti.net
Photography: Officina Immagine, Angelita Bonetti
Construction company: D.G. sas – Turin, Italy
MEP: Quadrifoglio – Turin, Italy / Nuova Spiros – Turin, Italy
Carpentry: Falegnameria 3C – Bernareggio (MB), Italy
Furniture: TA Office & More – Cantù (CO), Italy / Mascagni spa – Casalecchio di Reno (BO), Italy
Lighting: Telmotor – Bergamo, Italy
The space was conceived as a large horizontal roof, where systems and structures are visible and where the various volumes, which hold the functions, are articulated and follow one another as in an urban exterior where one can move freely.
The reception is located on the ground floor, which leads immediately – via an internal steel staircase – to the first floor: the large area holds the open space and the various functions supporting work activities, including meeting rooms, a storage connected to the laboratories, a break area and kitchenette for employees, as well as a series of areas for informal meetings and phone booths.
The presence of these volumes with regular geometries – cubes, suspended parallelepipeds, the cylinder of the exhibition area – together with the light (natural and artificial) that combines with the structural grid, make the perception of space fluid and precise.
The predominance of neutral tones, mainly white and anthracite grey, which clearly and precisely define the various micro-architectures, give the space an authoritative nature, in line with both the company’s corporate identity and the building’s industrial past: different variations of grey, warmer, up to garnet tones and blush shades, in particular in the lacquering and fabrics of the furnishings, soften the general perception of the space, making it rigorous but, at the same time, comfortable and welcoming.
