Buildings of historical importance
Lingotto (Torino)
Category: Buildings of historical importance
This Fiat factory building was designed by engineer Matté Trucco and inaugurated in 1923 as an ultramodern building. It underwent radical architectural transformation in the eighties, when the plants had been closed or moved, and the whole Lingotto area was redesigned by architect Renzo Piano. The new Lingotto, in fact, became a multipurpose and multifunctional space, which beside shops comprises exhibition areas and a conference centre, where cultural events, fairs and exhibitions can be held.
The original steel and concrete building is a great example of early industrial architecture. It had an upward structure, from the design to the finished product, which followed car manufacturing from the ground floor up to the roof, where there is still a charming test track with parabolic bends.
Lingotto is now the home of the new Auditorium, characterised by an ultramodern structure with a ceiling that is adjustable according to the musician’s needs. On the roof of the building is the helicopter pad and the glass bubble, which is an original conference room built by lawyer Giovanni Agnelli who also gave his family’s collection of paintings to be exhibited here permanently. In the Lingotto area, on the occasion of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games, were built the Oval – an indoor structure for speed skating - and the Arco Olimpico (Olympic Arch), which was the symbol of Torino 2006, as well as a footbridge 400 metres long surmounted by a red arch 69 metres high and 55 metres long.
Information
Via Nizza, 250 - 10126 Torino
