KATHLEEN SULLIVAN
KATE HOWERTON
URBAN CENTER URBAN CENTER FIRENZE
table of contents CLIMATE TYPOLOGY MAP
FLORENCE
LAND USE MATERIALS VIEWS NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY CIRCULATION MAP
SITE
LIGHTING MATERIALS CONDITION HISTORY APPROACH
BUILDING
KATHLEEN KATE
CONCLUSIONS
map typology
BUILDING TYPOLOGIES OF FLORENCE
LOGGIA
PIAZZA
(PUBLIC BENCH)
PALAZZO CLIMATE TYPOLOGY MAP
FLORENCE
SITE
BUILDING
CONCLUSIONS
100˚ 80˚ 60˚ 40˚ 20˚ JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
climate
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ˚F
AVERAGE RAINFALL INCHES
4 IN.
3 IN.
2 IN.
1 IN.
0 JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOv
DEC
AVERAGE WINDSPEED BEAUFORT
15 10 5 0 JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
CLIMATE TYPOLOGY MAP
FLORENCE
SITE
BUILDING
CONCLUSIONS
circulation PEDESTRIAN WALKING TIMES
BUS ROUTES
0-5 Minutes 5-10 Minutes 10-15 Minutes
Bus 22: Vecchietti <=> Lippi E Macia Bus 56: Patologia <=> Piagge Fs
LAND USE MATERIALS VIEWS NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY CIRCULATION MAP
Bus 58: Rifredi Fs - Vasco de Gama <=> Lippi e Macia
FLORENCE FLORENCE
SITE
BUILDING
CONCLUSIONS
street views LAND USE MATERIALS SCALE VIEWS NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY CIRCULATION MAP
FLORENCE
SITE
BUILDING
CONCLUSIONS
approach
The approach of the building is awkward. There is no set “entrance” to the building, but yet it is set close to a main busy street. The building is a little more than 5 stories tall, so the approach is intimidating. With the smoke stack sticking up even higher in the sky, thee user feels overwhelmed.
INDUSTRIAL
FIAT
iat heating plant built in the 1930’s. Was the Centrale Termica in via di Novoli, and was a part of the Fiat automotive factory. Current architecture alludes to former utilitarian uses of the building. Building and site is currently subject to a new center in project ofFlorence. the city to recover these former industrial buildings as a part of the new urban
history
signs of its industrial past
LIGHTING MATERIALS CONDITION HISTORY APPROACH
FLORENCE
SITE
BUILDING
CONCLUSIONS
condition
T
he current condition of the Fiat building is poor. The abandoned building has exterior plaster that is chipping off, broken glass windows, and a back door that has been removed and replaced with fencing.
glass concrete
plaster
materials
metal
brick
LIGHTING MATERIALS CONDITION APPROACH HISTORY
FLORENCE
SITE
BUILDING
CONCLUSIONS
lighting
NATURAL LIGHTING NATURAL LIGHTING
JUNE 21
MARCH 21, SEPTEMBER 21
SECTION B
DECEMBER 21
JUNE 21
MARCH 21, SEPTEMBER 21
SECTION A
DECEMBER 21
LIGHTING MATERIALS CONDITION HISTORY APPROACH
FLORENCE
SITE
BUILDING
CONCLUSIONS
The Novoli site is one in need of a facelift. The once proud site of the Fiat Automobile Factory, the north-west neighborhood of Novoli has been empty since the factory relocated in the late 1960’s. The one remaining Heating Plant still stands tall today, however, falling exterior plaster comes along with it. The Plant is becoming lost by it’s neighbors, new commercial buildings that are hiding the face of this once proud building. With the neighborhood being revamped by retail, office and residential space, and the University of Florence expanding their campus, the Plant must measure up. The approach of the Plant has the feeling as if the building has been abandoned for year materials pealing off, entrances fenced off, shattered window glass, and an empty interior. From this bleak building, 25 yards to the right, there are promising new commercial buildings with innovative architecture and clean materials. Something needs to be done to the Plant to help revitalize this site and bring back a space for the city of Florence to be proud of.
Florence is in need of a place that reconnects the city of Florence to the neighborhood of Novoli that also brings the city closer together. The new Urban Center Firenze will be a place where people of all ages can congregate, a space for exhibitions of works in the city, classrooms and meeting rooms for public use, a general place for the community to come together. This space will make communication more accessible to the residents of Florence, and help produce a stronger community of all the people. The location of the site brings residents from all ends of the city of Florence, henceforth, the new Urban Center Firenze needs to do an efficient job of bringing the community together. The most important aspect of the center will be the accessibility of the public space. The center will have a large public entrance to welcome people from all different neighborhoods. With the University of Florence campus near by, students will be a large percentage of the population inhabiting the space. The design of the urban center needs to address to whom in the community they will be catering to. Students, children, employed/unemployed adults, the elder, tourists, as well as other residents, will all be using this space. The design needs to understand what would be appropriate in terms of space usage to cater each group of the population occupying the space. This needs to be smart and practicle, as well as innovative and create a design that the city of Florence will once again be proud of.
conclusion
KATE
KATHLEEN
The opportunity presented in Novoli presents many different unique conditions. Its prominence on the site will make it a good site for a new Urban Center in Florence. This, combined with its location in relation to the train station and airport provides a natural location for a community building. The area of Novoli was built during a rare industrial time in Florence. The building we are looking at was once part of a plant owned by FIAT and many of its former functions are still visible in the structure, albeit -not functioning. There is a tremendous opportuity to focus on green aspects of architecture. Reusable materials abound in the existing building frame will be an opportunity to highlight the importance of reusable buildings and sustainable design. The building stands taller than its neighboring buildings thanks to its smoke stack (which also helps to remind users of Novoli’s industrial past). The abandoned building stands out in an area that is otherwise mostly new construction. It reads as a large mass, almost inpenetrable (quite literally, actually, for the side facing the main road does not have the tall, narrow windows found on other sides of the building). It is a square mass that extends vertically, mostly uninterrupted, until the heavy capping at the top that seems to push down on the rest ofthe building, firmly rooting the plant in it’s place. The area is easily accessible by bus and foot so it would not be unwarranted to assume that most people will first experience this building from one of two main viewpoints. The first is from afar when his/her eyes meet the stack and follow it down to this heavy building that stands set apart from the buildings around it and gives it a prevalence and permance. The other experience is a more personal one. Given the buildings proximity to multiple bus stops combined with the prevalence of walkers and bikers in Florence, the building will often be experienced from a very close range. One can feel overwhelmed by the buildings heavy mass from this vantage point. One aspect that will be very important to consider in designing this space will be to design for the people. In our research we looked at building typologies characteristic of Florence, especially those found in public architecture. The idea of a piazza is one that I want to look into more as we move forward with designing so that the building will welcome the citizens of Florence to their Urban Center. KATHLEEN KATE
FLORENCE
SITE
BUILDING
CONCLUSIONS