Light laboratories, iGuzzini, building for the Recanati offices

Maurizio Varratta's project to extend iGuzzini's offices in Recanati is about creating a building that is in itself an exhibit, but also functional. This building, known as "light laboratories", is a parallelepiped with a modular square base, four above ground floors and a basement showroom for the company's products. In keeping with the structure's underlying logic, the building also provides an opportunity to experience lighting solutions and performance. At night the kaleidoscope of coloured light transforms the building, turning it into a genuine "showroom" for the surrounding area and bringing visibility to the company.
The upper three floors are offices for research and planning, but the ground floor could best be described as "multi-purpose", with a reception area, an eating area, a training centre and variously-sized meeting rooms. A glass tunnel connects the new addition to the existing building. The entrance and reception areas, occupying no more floor space than is necessary, rise as high as the building itself and house the staircase and a glass lift. These areas also lead onto the glass foyer that opens onto the outside. The side opposite the foyer is used for the eating area and small receptions that can extend out onto the lawn. The auditorium is the central element of both the ground and basement floors. This rectangular shaped room leads down, past rows of chairs, to a multi-purpose stage area. The meeting rooms are arranged, on the ground floor, around the auditorium, one next to the other along two side corridors. On the basement floor, the equivalent space is divided into small enclosed areas where different lighting solutions are on display. The rest of this basement floor, extending beyond the edge of the above-ground structure, is for technical equipment and installations. The office levels start from the top of the auditorium, built around an internal patio area with two column structures for the bathrooms. By placing the offices around the edge, they enjoy two sources of natural light and significant organisational flexibility, with moveable partitions.
Environmental sustainability - in the broad sense - is central to this building and means that all four sides have large glazed areas. The design uses a double envelope structure with a deep air cavity to accumulate energy in winter and discharge of excess heat in summer. The dual awning system is against the inner window, with external shading and internal blinds, offering protecting against direct sunlight. The final piece in the sustainability puzzle is the roof covered in lawn and photovoltaic panels.

Francesco Pagliari