Ingegneri Riuniti has developed the final-executive project for the redevelopment of the industrial area of Bargellino, located in the municipality of Calderara di Reno, just outside the city of Bologna. The area has shown significant signs of deterioration and its main problem is its proximity to the Bologna airport.
The current situation shows a confused growth, an absence of defined routes and of regular road hierarchies that could allow to establish recognizable main and secondary routes, defined parking areas, as well as structured and comfortable green areas. There are no cycle paths, and the cyclists arriving from Calderara get to the subway in Via Torretta and then are forced to get onto a driveway.
The area of Bargellino is strongly influenced by the mobility infrastructures located in its surroundings, such as:
- Bologna Marconi Airport
- Bologna-Verona railways and internodal connections
- Provincial Road "Persicetana" (SP 568) and SP 16
The aim of our design was focused on what used to be identified as lot 2 in the Feasibility study; it was a central lot in the area of Bargellino, which distinguished itself by its medium-sized buildings and the presence of a mixed social fabric including services such as the station railway and many discontinuous areas of public green. For these reasons it is considered the heart of the whole district. The design intervention had to perceptively and functionally recreate some specific areas through visual (cycle-pedestrian) and perceptive (lighting systems) paths that implement usability and security, by enhancing their use and inclusiveness.
Thanks to its pleasant route, the cycle-pedestrian ring had to connect the area of the railway station and its external spaces, squares and parking lots, with a new sports area in the current empty green area located in Via Corazza. The green and lighting systems on these routes had to transform the area into a centre of gravity thanks to its services for the community, aiming at the use of green areas (sports fields) and providing services to the citizens (premises adjacent to the station). Consequently, this will allow to concentrate specific services to the citizens in these areas of intervention (restaurants, sports facilities, libraries, reading rooms), therefore allowing to welcome different sectors of citizenship as far as culture, age, education and personal stories.
The redevelopment of parking areas, the cycle paths, the green system, the street furniture, the lighting system, the traffic signs, the bicycle storage services, the usability of the paths and spaces, the colours of the materials are all planning elements that aim at creating a clearly identifiable and barycentric area that is not currently discernible in such a wide productive context. The core of this redeveloped area is the recently built "FAB LAB", a building designed to host different services for firms and for the neighbouring University of Bologna.
