Visit to the building yard of the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile of Turin

After a wait for almost two years, on 9 November the building yard of the National Automobile Museum has been opened to the top authorities of Turin. The visit, lasted a little more than an hour, has allowed those present to observe the almost complete shape of the structure which, thanks to the enlargement towards Richelmy street, will bring the exhibition area to 11.500 sq meters from the original 10.000 ones. Francois Confino, a well-loved architect by Turin citizens because he is the artistic director of the new National Museum of Cinema, has outlined that the project on the space arrangement will involve a wide-ranging setting, giving up to a certain immobility in the exhibition of the cars lined up with simple written subtitles, and introducing a feeling of movement thanks to the use of complex and innovative stage devices.

As far as the structure external look is concerned, architect Cino Zucchi has explained how the symmetric structure of the existing building will be “reread” from the new basement in order to comply with the different conditions of the surrounding area and to stress the relation with largo Unità d’Italia, then adding that the new façade of glass worked with different degrees of transparency will unify the front view over Richelmy street, thus renewing the image of the museum. In the same direction there will be the covering of the inner courtyard with 1.450 sq metres of “ metallic skin”, thanks to which it will be stressed the ring layout of the exhibition, meantime obtaining a new area for events.

Then, it was particularly interesting the new conference hall, divided into two overlapped halls with 150 and 401 places respectively, designed by means of dynamic elements that, with the lights off, will offer a progressive fading glare. As an absolute novelty a restaurant (400 sq metres) will be opened, beside which there will be a coffee house and a bookshop (950 sq. metres in total) as well as a centre purposely made for didactics (360 sq metres) and a new documentation centre (800 sq metres) for the specialists in the sector.

Mayor Chiamparino has expressed his satisfaction both with the project and the working progress, thus replying to the rumours that wanted to postpone the delivery date fixed today up to the end of 2010, by pointing out how the museum has to become, among other things, a driving element for the urban renewal of the South quadrant of the city.

Marco Zanello

Galleria immagini