Redevelopment of the Prince Foresto Palace

The large complex of over 11,000 m2, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages and tell the evolution of Modena’s society, is about to undergo an important urban transformation.

The temporary association of companies, with the parent company Politecnica Ingegneria ed Architettura, with Studio IT’S, Studio Calvi, Engineers Riuniti, Studio Mattioli - Antonio Paone and MR Energy Systems, has in fact obtained the assignment from the State Property Agency to give new function and structure to the Finance Palace of Modena, a monumental complex in the historic center of the city. 

The redevelopment of the Palace is a project of great importance for the enhancement of the historical and cultural heritage of Modena and represents an opportunity for the improvement of the urban quality of the city. In fact, it focuses on the rethinking of the two internal courts, understood as the fulcrum of the work with the dual objective of re-reading the axis that unites them and reconnecting the Palace to the system of streets and voids of the historic city center.

"This project represents an opportunity to return the building to the life of the city, through the creation of new public spaces, pedestrians and not, accesses, internal passages and courtyards that offer new areas that can be crossed and experienced by the community" says Micaela Goldoni, coordinator of the Polytechnic design team " This is a real urban transformation in a sustainable key that wants to give new potential of shared space to the building that will also have a higher legibility of the facade"

"The project aims to return this organism to the life of the city and establish new relationships through the restoration of the empty spaces that characterize it, generating a new public continuity of the soil" adds the architect Alessandro Cambi of IT’S.

Located in the historic center of Modena, the Palazzo delle Finanze, also known as "Palazzo del Principe Foresto", is the subject of the rationalization plan of the State Property Agency, which provides not only its restructuring, but also its functional conversion, intended to accommodate different articulations of the Ministry of the Interior.

The project will include the revision of the morphology of the facade and the reorganization of the empty spaces that characterize it in order to create an organic sequence of spaces. In this way, the Palace will become an integral element of the urban fabric, contributing to the enhancement of the historical-architectural heritage of the city and improving the quality of life of its inhabitants. 

The project combines respect for traditions with innovation and environmental sustainability, thanks to the application of the GBC Historic Building protocol. by GBC Italia. The protocol rewards the choices of conservation and restoration of the building in addition to the design strategies implemented to save water and energy and improve the quality of the internal environment and the sustainability of the site. At every level, natural materials, such as stone and wood, will generate homogeneous and welcoming atmospheres. Moreover, some of the existing materials will be promptly recovered and reused in a new arrangement.

The external facades of the building, on which heterogeneous elements have been layered over the years, will serve as a palimpsest, from which pre-existing signs emerge and on which to overwrite the new elements necessary for the functional program, in a synthesis of language able to express all the times of the Palace. Work is scheduled to begin by June 2024, as soon as the company is selected for the realization of the work, which will be delivered to the city at the end of 2026.

The project team shall:

Group leader integration of specialist services, architectural restoration design: Politecnica

Architectural design and BIM coordination: IT’S

Facilities: Studio Calvi

Electrical installations: Engineers Riuniti, Politecnica 

Mechanical installations, networks and sub-services: Politecnica 

Acoustics: Politecnica

Geologist: Studio Mattioli

GBC Historic Building Protocol. Italy: MR Energy Systems

Assignment: complete (final project, executive and works management)

History: 2021 - in progress

Project data: SLP 11.677 m2

Photography Geo Group