Storyteller 09 - Salerno harbour station - Zaha Hadid

Stories of

EXCELLENCE PROJECTS

Salerno Maritime Terminal, Zaha Hadid Architects

Dear Readers, first in 2016 and then more recently in 2020 I have visited Molo Manfredi, the pier at the port of Salerno where the Maritime Terminal is located, to take the photos that you find in this issue of Faraone's Projects of Excellence series which have been available for some years both to professionals and lovers of Transparent Architecture.

Zaha Hadid's project materialized in an interval of 11 years (2005-2016) through the use of glass, concrete and ceramics, and took the form of "An oyster with an external hard shell that encloses fluid and soft elements inside, and with a ‘tempered’ roof that constitutes a protective shield from the intense Mediterranean sun". Inside the building there are over 300 meters of Ninfa balustrades in laminated glass which are able to obtain visual depths in total safety with a resistance to the thrust of 450 kg/m and to the impact of 650 J, obtained thanks to the tests carried out in laboratory and on site.

The challenge was double with equal satisfaction. The first was to follow the soft curves and inclinations designed by the Iraqi (naturalized British) star architect Zaha Hadid. The second was to guarantee the expected performance in all the different fixing points. The staircase, the curved lines, the inclination of the glass and the integration with the concrete were the key points that the Faraone staff, together with the Hadid studio, tackled to overcome the challenge of an extraordinary project.

www.faraone.it

www.faraone.it

Roberto Volpe Strategic Designer Faraone

Materials and transparency

In collaboration with Zaha Hadid Architects

The Ninfa glass balustrade accompanies the sinuous lines designed by the Iraqi (naturalized British) archistar.

Client: Municipality of Salerno

Maître-d’œuvre: Zaha Hadid Architects

Executive design: Faraone, Curtain&Windows srl

Product supplied: Ninfa balustrades

The Zaha Hadid Studio defined the work as "An oyster with an external hard shell that encloses fluid and soft elements inside, and with a ‘tempered’ roof that constitutes a protective shield from the intense Mediterranean sun". The maritime terminal of Salerno is located in the Manfredi pier, between the commercial port and the city waterfront. The terminal, with its curves, defines the natural connection between the mountains in the background and the sea in front of the city of Salerno.

The building spreads over an area of 4,500 square meters, which are distributed over two levels and divided into three blocks connected to each other with a wide stairway from which a long soft line of glass balustrades starts: the administrative offices, the ferry terminal and the one for cruise ships.

During the day, the terminal, thanks to its glass components, allows you to admire from the inside a spectacular view of the Amalfi Coast and the Gulf of Salerno, while at night the

illuminated silhouette of the terminal welcomes those arriving in the city like a lighthouse.

The building wants to represent, from both a perceptive and functional point of view, a space of mediation between the earth's solidity and the liquidity of the sea. The terminal, following the metaphor of an asymmetrical oyster, conceptually protects passengers from the strong Mediterranean sun.

Having the opportunity to collaborate with the Zaha Hadid Studio was for us a further sign of openness to futuristic projects with innovative solutions chosen by internationally renowned designers.

Our partnership with Curtain & Windows has guaranteed a perfect execution with state-of-theart installation of high performance Ninfa glass balustrade, today with resistances ranging from 200 kg/m to 1,000 kg/m (real tests). Today the area of Molo Manfredi, where the new Crescent residential complex also stands, is in the final phase of the interventions envisaged by the initial project, with an expansion of the area in front of the entrance to the pier. The passengers’ experience is unique in that, both at the entrance and at the arrival, their path passes through floating and dynamic spaces without ever losing orientation.

Source: - « Maritime Terminal, Salerno Italy », Arketipo. n.104, 2016.

COVER PLAN LEVEL 1 PLAN LEVEL 0 +13.17 +7.15 +2.45 0.00

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COVER PLAN LEVEL 1 PLAN LEVEL 0 +13.17 +7.15 +2.45 0.00 Technical drawings: Zaha Hadid Architects Studio Scale 1:800

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Details: Section of the structural glazing on the southwest side towards the boarding bridge 1. 2. Cover Recessed lighting

Section on the departures hall Zigzag glazed areas section Cross section

Technical drawings: Zaha Hadid Architects Studio

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Sector A Sector B Sector A

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+10.81 +7.15 +2.45 -0.75 0.00 D3 D5 D6 L1

The considerations of the zCurtain & Windows Srl company:

For our company, working for an internationally renowned Archistar was certainly a great opportunity. The result achieved was possible thanks to the experience gained over many years of activity, the preparation of our technicians, our teams of workers specialized in the installation and the choice of a partner like Faraone, who supported us in all the phases of the construction.

The work is complex, articulated and outside the traditional schemes. The external and internal transparent glass elements required high levels of customization of the individual components, maximum precision in the design phase, numerous checks before installation and accuracy in the installation phase.

The "heaviness" of the concrete structures is contrasted by the "lightness" of the glass, which is used on the external facades (as a connecting element between the two shells) and on the inside on the balustrades (to accentuate the idea of transparency, brightness and visibility). Faraone systems have allowed us to satisfy all the requests of the designers. The internal balustrades are indeed fully glazed featuring no visible profiles. The anchoring of the glass sheets to the structure has been carried out using guides that are integrated into the floor. The effect created inside is that of a balanced alternation of emptiness and fullness, of light and penumbra, of matter and transparency.

The internal layout of the terminal guides passengers through a fluid sequence of spaces that house the services and functional elements (restaurant and waiting room). In the points where the Faraone’s glass balustrades are installed, the traveller has the sensation of walking on paths suspended between the forms and the articulated volumes of the interior.

Curtain & Windows Srl