Residenze Neri: A new Urban Frontage in Faenza

This residential development on the site of the former Neri distillery is part of one of the most significant urban regeneration projects in Faenza for decades. Designed by Alessandro Bucci Architetti and part of a larger 13 h redevelopment, they occupy a large, previously disused industrial site on the edge of the city center that until 1997 was occupied by historic distillers Neri.

The birth of a new neighborhood

Started in 2010, the project has gradually transformed the industrial site into a new mixed-use neighborhood. Comprising homes, retail, services, and offices, the development has reestablished a direct relationship with the city. Redesigned roads, the addition of pedestrian and bicycle routes, and new public spaces and green areas have transformed the site into a full-fledged new neighborhood, rather than just an isolated building development.

Within the project, the residential component plays a key role in forming the city-facing frontage. Running along Via della Costituzione, the sequence of architectural volumes reads as a unified urban ensemble – a continuous street frontage that guides and introduces visitors to the new neighborhood. The seven buildings that form the frontage were built in multiple phases, with the final two – F1 and F2 – completed in 2024, completing the residential axis.

Buildings F1 and F2: unity and architectural variety

Architecturally, the massing of buildings F1 and F2 centers on a balance between unity and variety. Instead of being rigidly aligned, the bases and rooflines trace out a series of broken lines with different pitches, adding to the dynamism of the elevations. Very much material driven, the façades are characterized by a complex alternation of colors created by the location of openings and the material palette.

The frontage is interrupted only by the passages leading to the covered pedestrian arcades of the La Filanda shopping center. The first floor houses retail, office, and service spaces, while the four upper levels are dedicated to apartments. A shared basement has storage units and parking.

The use of just three materials – painted EIFS, exposed brick, and painted aluminum – applied in seemingly random sequences produces a controlled fragmentation of the façades that is homogeneous but never repetitive. Terracotta slats applied in a stacked bond pattern on different modules create a continuous interplay of light and shadow. The plastered surfaces, which are dark at ground level and in two tones on the upper levels, create a stylistic continuity with the buildings completed in earlier phases.

Openings – full-height windows, recessed loggias, and Juliet balconies – do not follow a rigid grid but externally reflect the variety of layouts of the apartments inside. This approach is found in the design of the residences throughout the building, with each conceived as an autonomous unit with different floor plans, orientations, and configurations aimed at avoiding repetition and to offer a broad range of housing options.

This project by Alessandro Bucci Architetti demonstrates how contemporary residential developments can contribute to shaping public space. The Residenze Neri project not only marks the completion of a major urban regeneration initiative but also returns a previously inaccessible site back to the city by transforming it into a vital neighborhood deeply integrated into the urban fabric.

>>> Discover more about the history of Residenze Neri